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DRC fighters to testify at warlord trials

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, March 28 (UPI) -- Four former Democratic Republic of Congo fighters went to The Hague, Netherlands, to testify in trials for warlords facing war-crime charges, a DRC minister.

The witnesses, who face charges themselves in the DRC, were taken from a prison in the capital of Kinshasa to make the trip to The Hague, DRC Justice Minister Emmanuel Luzolo Bambi said in a Radio France Internationale report.

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They are due to testify at the International Criminal Court in the trials of militia leaders Thomas Lubanga and Germain Katanga, who are charged with crimes allegedly committed during a 2002-2003 conflict in Ituri province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Lubanga is accused of enlisting children soldiers when he allegedly led the Union of Congolese Patriots armed group.

Katanga is being tried on several counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Bambi said the four witnesses would be in The Hague for about six weeks before returning to Kinshasa.

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