Ugandan LRA leader Ongwen headed to The Hague: ICC

Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army chief Dominic Ongwen is on his way to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Ongwen surrendered last week in the Central African Republic.

Deutsche Welle, 20 Jan 2015

Dominic Ongwen (third from left above) left the Central African Republic on Tuesday and is headed to the ICC detention center in The Hague, the ICC said in a statement.

Ongwen is a top commander of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army, which waged one of Africa's most brutal rebellions. The Uganda rebels are accused of killing more than 100,000 people since 1986.

He surrendered to US special forces in the Central African Republic last week. The American troops then handed him over to Ugandan soldiers working for the African Union Regional Task Force.

"I strongly welcome the transfer of Dominic Ongwen to the custody of the Court, which constitutes an important success for the Rome Statute system nearly ten years after the issuance of the warrant of arrest against him," said Sidiki Kaba, the president of the ICC's governing body - the Assembly of States Parties (ASP).

Ongwen's flight is due to land in the Netherlands on Wednesday morning.

jr/bw (AFP, Reuters)