Efterslæb fra en af de mange lokale etniske konflikter, der har hjemsøgt kæmpelandet midt i Afrika i årtier, og som har trukket et gruopvækkende spor af blod og lidelse i det tidl. Belgisk Congo.
Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga has been sentenced to 14 years in jail for recruiting and using child soldiers, even as young as 11 years old, in his rebel army in 2002 and 2003, BBC online reports Tuesday.
He was convicted (kendt skyldig) by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague in March – the first since the court was set up 10 years ago. Taking into account time in custody, he will now serve a further eight years.
The conflict was concentreted between ethnic groups in Ituri, north-eastern DR Congo. The 52-year old warlord, who has a degree in psychology, was leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an ethnic Hema militia.
The military wing of the UPC was one of six militia groups which fought for control of the gold-rich Ituri region until 2003.
This was a local conflict within the wider DR Congo war, which left an estimated five million people dead – mostly from hunger and disease.
The Ituri conflict turned into a battle between the Hema and Lendu communities which killed an estimated 50.000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
Lubanga was accused of recruiting children under 15 as soldiers and arrested in Kinshasa in March 2005. He has beeen held by the ICC at The Hague since 2006.
The issue of reparations (erstatninger) was not addressed at Tuesday’s hearing. Both sides now have 30 days to appeal.
The conviction of Lubanga is linked to current unrest in DR Congo. Rebel forces are advancing towards the country’s main eastern city of Goma. They are headed by Gen Bosco Ntaganda, who is also wanted for war crimes by the ICC.
