LRA commander Dominic Ongwen to go on trial at ICC
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Mr Ongwen is accused of leading attacks on camps for internally displaced people
The LRA has terrorised large areas of central Africa for more than two decades
By BBC News From the section Africa
The first Lords Resistance Army commander to appear before the International Criminal Court is to go on trial at The Hague.
Dominic Ongwen is also the first child soldier to be tried by the ICC.
He faces 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Uganda, more charges than any other suspect.
But the BBC’s Anna Holligan says his past may present ethical and legal dilemmas, and his lawyers may use his traumatised youth to plea for leniency.
Dominic Ongwen was a boy when he was abducted and conscripted by the notoriously ruthless rebel cult.
Who is Dominic Ongwen?
Our correspondent in The Hague says his story encapsulates many of the complexities of the conflict which has claimed more than 100,000 lives – he was a child groomed in the image of his oppressors.
He was captured in the Central African Republic in January 2015, after being sought by US and African forces since 2011.
He is said to be the deputy to LRA commander Joseph Kony, who is still on the run.
Uganda agreed that Mr Ongwen should be tried by the ICC despite being a fierce critic of the court.
The LRA rebellion began more than two decades ago in northern Uganda and its estimated 200-500 fighters – many of them child soldiers – have since terrorised large swathes of central Africa.
