“There are other FDLR leaders under Mudacumura. Prosecuting him alone may not bring an important contribution to the understanding of serious crimes being committed by the FDLR,” the internet media published in Kinyarwanda quotes the Prosecutor General as saying.
In his statement on April 14, 2012, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said his office has “filed an arrest warrant application against a leader of the most active militia in the Kivu provinces (Democratic Republic of Congo), Silyvestre Mudacumura, the Supreme Commander of the FDLR-FOCA.”
According to the statement, “Sylvestre Mudacumura is charged with- 5 counts of crimes against humanity: murder, inhumane acts, rape, torture and persecution and 9 counts of war crimes: attack against a civilian population, murder or willful killing, mutilation, cruel treatment, rape, torture, destruction of property, pillaging and outrage upon personal dignity.”
“The alleged crimes were committed by the FDLR-FOCA between 20 January 2009 and 31 August 2012, in the North and South Kivu Provinces,” Moreno-Ocampo says in the statement.
According to him, “For too long the populations of North Kivu have been surrounded by violence. They are the victims of crimes committed by different groups: in particular Mudacumura’s FDLR. It is time for them to see justice. The Kivu provinces are not a prize to be shared between the FDLR-FOCA, the CNDP or others. It is a place where people deserve to live in peace, where crimes should be punished and impunity should be fought,” the prosecutor further said.
FK/NI