Congolese war lord goes on trial for rape, pillage and murder

Congolese war lord Bosco Ntaganda pleaded not guilty to crimes including the rape of child soldiers in a campaign of pillage and murder in north-east Congo’s Ituri province in the early-2000s.

The Rwandan-born Ntaganda is accused by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of conspiring to expand the power of the Hema ethnic group and seize the province’s vast oil, diamond and gold wealth for himself.

He faces 18 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in all, including murder, rape, pillage and persecution, under a doctrine of international law that allows him to be charged personally with offences committed by forces under his command.