Ex-warlord wanted over child soldiers is serving in military

Published on Wednesday 13 October 2010 18:52

A FORMER Congolese warlord accused of conscripting child soldiers is free and serving in the Congolese military, despite a warrant for his arrest.

Bosco Ntaganda was first indicted on war crimes charges in 2006 by the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, Netherlands.

The court has accused Ntaganda of using child soldiers for fighting in Ituri, in north-eastern Congo, from 2002 to 2003.

The UN also has implicated Ntaganda in the 2008 massacre in the village of Kiwanja in Congo's North Kivu province. More than 150 people were killed by rebels under Ntaganda's command, according to a UN report.

Human Rights Watch has called for the Congolese government to arrest Ntaganda immediately, but Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende said the group should direct its demand to the country's judiciary.

Ntaganda vigorously denied the allegations and said he did not fear arrest.

"I don't think the UN is able to arrest me in Congo because they have arms that I also have and that can protect me," he said.

"If it is established that I committed crimes, I won't hesitate to answer them to a court in my country. But I will never accept answering charges by the International Court."

Justice minister Bambi Luzolo siad last week that the warrant for Ntaganda's arrest would not be honoured because Congo already has handed over a number of former warlords - more than any other country in the world, he said.

"The ICC should first look for the accused elsewhere in the world," he said, "and not keep asking Congo."