ICC to investigate activities of Congo M23 Rebels in Goma

On 4 December 2012, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda announced that the Court is ‘investigating’ the alleged crimes of M23 and ‘other parties’ who might be involved in the conflict in the Goma district of the Kivu region in eastern DRC.

Whereas the ICC had already condemned the actions of rebel leaders such as Bosco Ntaganda and called for his arrest, the Court is expanding its investigations to include second and third parties alongside the M23.

The Court has already issued two arrest warrants for Ntaganda over allegations of crimes committed when he was a leader of two armed groups, the Union of Congolese Patriots and the Congrès National Pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP).

The ICC has not yet confirmed who the ‘other parties’ besides the M23 are.