KINSHASA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Mission for Stabilization of Congo (MONUSCO) on Tuesday hailed the surrender of the Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda who will soon be transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"Ntaganda's surrender and his expected transfer to the ICC will help to push forward the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo)," said the special representative of the UN secretary general in Congo who is also the head of MONUSCO Roger Meece.
"This is a very strong message to all those who have been violating human rights, that they will never escape justice," he added.
Aged about 42, Ntaganda is one of the founders of the March 23 (M23) rebel movement. The ICC issued an arrest warrant against him for several crimes that include war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed between Sept. 1, 2002 and the end of September 2003 in eastern DR Congo's North Kivu province.
On Monday, the former Congolese general surrendered to the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda and specifically demanded to be transferred to ICC.
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