Former Lord’s Resistance Army Commander Appears at War Crimes Court
A captured Ugandan rebel commander made his first public appearance Monday at a hearing before the International Criminal Court, where he stands accused of crimes including murder and enslavement.
Speaking calmly in his native Acholi dialect, Dominic Ongwen, a commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army, the rebel group that has terrorized parts of sub-Saharan Africa for decades, identified himself as a former child soldier born in northern Uganda in 1975. He also said “I’d like to thank God for creating Heaven and Earth, together with everyone that’s on Earth.”
Dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and blue and gray plaid tie, his hair closely cropped, Mr. Ongwen did not resemble his guerrilla photographs, which show a man with dreadlocks wearing a green military beret and camouflage fatigues.
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