KAMPALA, Uganda — The military said Wednesday that it had confirmed the identity of Lord’s Resistance Army rebel commander Dominic Ongwen, who surrendered to American troops in Central African Republic.
Related: Cutting Through the African Bush
It's thick, but well worth it!
Related: Cutting Through the African Bush
It's thick, but well worth it!
Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda, the Ugandan army spokesman, said soldiers and Ongwen’s former colleagues who defected from the rebel group had positively identified him.
‘‘I can confirm that he is the one. We have duly identified him. There is no doubt about his identity,’’ Ankunda said. The man turned himself over to US soldiers in Central African Republic on Tuesday, officials in Washington said.
Uganda’s Foreign Affairs permanent secretary, James Mugume, said a Ugandan legal team was to consult with the International Criminal Court on whether the rebel commander should be moved to The Hague for trial or be tried at home. The rebels’ insurgency began in Uganda.
Mugume said the criminal court and Uganda government would discuss the court’s ‘‘complementarity principle,” which he said gives states the first responsibility and right to prosecute international crimes like those allegedly committed by Ongwen.
In the Netherlands, Fadi El Abdallah, a spokesman for the criminal court, said he had no immediate comment. The court’s prosecutors also had no immediate comment on Ongwen’s detention.
The court’s warrant of arrest for Ongwen lists seven counts of alleged individual criminal responsibility including crimes against humanity, enslavement, murder, and inhumane acts of inflicting serious bodily injury.
There was no immediate word on what the Americans had done with Ongwen.
In 2005, the Ugandan military had announced him dead but in 2006 the criminal court reported that the genetic fingerprinting confirmed it was not Ongwen.
Ongwen, rebel leader Joseph Kony, and three others who have reportedly since died were charged by the criminal court.
Related: Kony Kon Kollapses
Related: Kony Kon Kollapses
In Washington, the Obama administration said Tuesday the defection could be a ‘‘historic blow’’ to Kony’s nearly three-decade rebellion.
The man surrendered to US military personnel in the Central African Republic, where they are helping African troops hunt for Kony and his fighters, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington on Tuesday. The man said he was a defector from the rebel group and later identified himself as senior commander Dominic Ongwen.
Kony’s rebellion is accused of some of the world’s worst atrocities including mass killings and keeping girls as sex slaves.
Originating in Uganda in the 1980s as a tribal uprising against the government, the group’s rebellion has become one of Africa’s longest and most brutal.
At the peak of its powers the group razed villages, raped women, and amputated limbs.
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"Ugandan rebel commander to be tried by international court" Associated Press January 14, 2015
KAMPALA, Uganda — The country’s military said Tuesday the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel commander who surrendered to American troops last week will be taken to The Hague for trial.
Dominic Ongwen is now in US custody in Obo, a town in eastern Central African Republic, the country where he surrendered on Jan. 6, said Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda, Uganda army spokesman.
The United Nations, African Union, Uganda, and United States consulted on the decision to try him at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed that Ongwen would be delivered to the court.
Although Uganda wanted to try him itself, the United States has concerns about how Ongwen would be treated there and whether high standards of detention and prosecution would be upheld, other officials said on condition of anonymity.
This from a nation that admits it tortured people.
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"Ugandan rebel commander to be tried by international court" Associated Press January 14, 2015
KAMPALA, Uganda — The country’s military said Tuesday the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel commander who surrendered to American troops last week will be taken to The Hague for trial.
Dominic Ongwen is now in US custody in Obo, a town in eastern Central African Republic, the country where he surrendered on Jan. 6, said Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda, Uganda army spokesman.
The United Nations, African Union, Uganda, and United States consulted on the decision to try him at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed that Ongwen would be delivered to the court.
Although Uganda wanted to try him itself, the United States has concerns about how Ongwen would be treated there and whether high standards of detention and prosecution would be upheld, other officials said on condition of anonymity.
This from a nation that admits it tortured people.
--more--"
