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Africa

War crimes judges sentence Congolese warlord Ntaganda to 30 years in prison

epa07978059 Former Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands, 07 November 2019, prior to the verdict. He is accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2002 and 2003. EPA-EFE/Peter Dejong

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court sentenced former Congolese military leader Bosco Ntaganda on Thursday to 30 years in prison for atrocities including murder, rape and conscripting child soldiers.

Ntaganda, 46, was found guilty in July on 18 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for acts committed when he was military operations chief at the Union of Congolese Patriots(UPC) militia in east Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002-2003.

At Thursday’s sentencing, Judge Robert Fremr said there were no real mitigating circumstances and issued the 30-year sentence, the longest handed down by the Hague court to date.

Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Hugh Lawson.

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