On trial over child soldiers

THE HAGUE - A Congolese militia leader accused of conscripting children for war will be the first suspect to face trial at the International Criminal Court, the chief prosecutor of the ICC said.

Thomas Lubanga arrived at a temporary detention centre having being flown from the Democratic Republic of Congo aboard a French military plane one day after Congolese authorities surrendered him to the court.

Lubanga was the founder and leader of one of the most dangerous militia in Congo's lawless northeastern district of Ituri, the ICC's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said.

He has been charged with enlisting children under the age of 15 as soldiers but investigations continue and more charges could be brought as prosecutors probe years of militia violence in Ituri which has killed tens of thousands of people.

Unicef estimates 300,000 children are being used in armed groups and forces around the world.

- REUTERS