ICC prosecutor in DRCongo

2009-07-09 14:22

Kinshasa -The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court arrived Wednesday in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo whose former warlords are due to be tried by the court, an ICC spokesperson  said.

Luis Moreno Ocampo arrived in Bunia, capital of the northeastern region, and is due to go to the village of Bogoro, "in relation to the charges he has laid against Mathieu Ngudjolo and Germain Katanga," the ICC spokesperson in the DR Congo, Paul Madidi, said.

Ngudjolo and Katanga face trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity for murders and rapes committed during an attack on Bogoro on February 2003 by the Force of Patriotic Resistance in Ituri and the Front of Nationalists and Integrationists, two militias they led.

The trial of both men is due to open at the ICC, the world's only permanent tribunal for war crimes, in The Hague on September 24. They were each handed over to the court by Congolese authorities.

Ocampo's visit will "in some way bring comfort to the communities affected by these crimes" and he is due "to meet the people, representatives of ethnic groups and non-governmental organisations to explain his mandate," Madidi said.

The prosecutor is due to spend three days in Ituri before returning to The Hague.

- SAPA