Congo warcrimes suspect turned over to tribunal

The alleged leader of a Congolese militia charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for masterminding a savage attack on a village during which 200 people were murdered has been turned over to the International Criminal Court, the court announced today.

Germain Katanga, known as “Simba” is the alleged commander of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri, and allegedly committed six war crimes and three crimes against humanity in the lawless province, the court in the Hague, Netherlands, said in a statement.

Katanga is the second suspect in ICC custody after Thomas Lubanga, an alleged warlord from the same region of Congo.

Judges at the court, the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal, issued a warrant for Katanga’s arrest on July 2 after studying evidence in which prosecutors alleged he was responsible for the attack on the village of Bogoro in February 2003.

Two hundred civilians were massacred, women and girls raped and enslaved, and villagers imprisoned in a room filled with corpses. Katanga is also charged with using child soldiers in the attack.

Judges at the court said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” the attack on Bogoro was part of a systematic attack on members of the Hema ethnic group in Ituri carried out by Katanga’s militia and the armed Nationalist and Integrationist Front between January and March 2003.

ICC Registrar Bruno Cathala welcomed Congo’s decision to hand over Katanga.

“The Congolese authorities have co-operated with the court... by executing the warrant of arrest and surrendering him,” Mr Cathala said.