Congo-Kinshasa: Lubanga Verdict 'A First Step'

Nairobi — A ruling by the International Criminal Court (ICC) finding former Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga guilty of conscripting child soldiers in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Ituri region is good news in the fight against impunity but more crimes there should be prosecuted, say analysts.

Lubanga had been indicted by the ICC for conscripting child soldiers in Ituri between 2002 and 2003 while serving as leader of the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC) militia. The UPC claimed to be acting on behalf of the ethnic Hema population in Ituri during the armed conflict that pitted them against the Lendu ethnic group between 1999 and 2003.

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