Kampala — Armies that participated in the DR-Congo war should be very afraid. The International Criminal Court has, in a move welcomed by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, announced it is starting investigations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the DR-Congo conflict that has left at least 3.3 million people dead.

"We hope that the investigation will lead to the prosecution of persons bearing the greatest responsibility, including senior political and military figures in all the armed forces and groups who ordered or condoned crimes under international law such as mass killings, rapes and the use of child soldiers," said Amnesty.

HRW said "Ugandan and Rwandan officials, among others, may be implicated in some of these crimes" and urged the ICC prosecutor to "look beyond the borders of the DRC" for perpetrators of crimes. "We urge Luis Moreno Ocampo (ICC Prosecutor) to follow the trail of criminality across national borders and investigate not only Congolese warlords, but their foreign backers as well," said Richard Dicker, HRW director of the International Justice programme. He added that it would send a signal for the crimes to end in the great lakes region.

ICC investigations, announced on Wednesday, follow preliminary examination of crimes committed in DRC since July 2002. They also follow DRC's request to the Court to investigate crimes against humanity by rebels and foreign armies. ICC investigates only where a party invites it. At least five armies from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, and Zimbabwe participated in Congo's civil war that brought the late Laurent Kabila to power in 1997 - before they turned guns on each other.

Yesterday, Information Minister Dr James Nsaba Buturo told The Monitor, "We just hope that the court consults all sides, so that the conclusions drawn reflect the realities on the ground." Uganda - not DRC - was the first country to ask the ICC to investigate alleged crimes against humanity.