ICC to charge former DRC warlord with recruitment of child soldiers

The International Criminal Court (ICC) will charge Thomas Lubanga, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s former warlord with forcefully recruiting children into his Congolese Patriotic Front (FPC) militia, according to judiciary sources.

It was confirmed by Paul Madidi, coordinator of ICC activities in the DRC.

Lubanga who is being held at Hague, has been investigated for numerous crimes including war crimes against humanity, but the ICC prosecutor in Bunia, a major town in Ituri, eastern DRC has been unable to gather enough evidence to sustain further charges against the former warlord.

Speaking on Sunday, Lubanga's lawyers who sought to clarify the status of the charges against their client said that the recruitment of child soldiers had also been undertaken by other Ituri warlords, calling on the ICC to instigate proceedings against these warlords.

Source: Xinhua