The assault on Bogoro, which occurred on February 24, 2003, was an attack on the village of Bogoro in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(DRC) by the

Nationalist and Integrationist Front The Nationalist and Integrationist Front (, or FNI) is a rebel group active in the Ituri conflict in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo, associated with the Lendu ethnic group. The FNI has fought against ethnic Hema and is blamed for the a ...

(FNI) and the

Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri The Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri (; FRPI) is a Bunia-based armed militia and political party primarily active in the south of the Ituri Province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly the Orientale Province). It is a ...

(FRPI). The attackers allegedly went on an "indiscriminate killing spree",International Criminal Court (19 October 2007).
Statement by Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor, during the press conference regarding the arrest of Germain Katanga
''. Retrieved on 17 July 2008. killing at least 200

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

s, imprisoning survivors in a room filled with corpses, and sexually enslaving women and girls. Two rebel leaders,

Germain Katanga Germain Katanga (; born 28 April 1978), also known by his nom de guerre Simba (), is a Congolese former rebel leader and the former head of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI), an armed group in the Ituri Province of the Democratic R ...

and

Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui (born 8 October 1970)International Criminal Court (6 July 2007). . Retrieved 7 February 2008. is a colonel in the Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese army and a former senior commander of the Na ...

, have been charged by the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

with

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

over their alleged role in planning the attack.

Background

Bogoro is a village in

Ituri Province Ituri Province ( in Swahili) is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the subdividing of the former Orientale ...

, in the north-east of the DRC. Between 1999 and 2003, Ituri was the scene of a violent conflict between the Lendu, Ngiti and Hema ethnic groups. The Hema-dominated Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) seized control of

Bunia Bunia is the capital Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was part of the Orientale Province until that province's dissolution. It lies at an elevation of on a ...

, the district capital, in August 2002. Bogoro was a strategically important town on the road between Bunia and the border with Uganda, with a UPC military camp in the middle of the town.International Criminal Court (7 February 2008). . Retrieved on 17 July 2008. The attack aimed to drive the UPC from Bogoro, but it also appeared to be a "reprisal operation against the Hema civilian population". It was part of a plan by Lendu and Ngiti rebels to attack predominantly Hema villages in preparation for an assault on Bunia.

Attack

On 24 February 2003, hundreds of FNI and FRPI fighters — including children under the age of fifteen — attacked Bogoro with machetes, spears, arrows, mortars,

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...

s, rocket launchers and

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

. United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2004). ''Special report on the events in Ituri, January 2002-December 2003'', pp. 22-23. S/2004/573. According to the ICC, they circled the village and "converged towards the centre on a killing spree", killing at least 200

s, imprisoning survivors in a room filled with corpses, and sexually enslaving women and girls. Some residents of the village were killed by setting their houses on fire, others were hacked to death with

machete A machete (; ) is a broad blade used either as an agricultural implement similar to an axe, or in combat like a long-bladed knife. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the Spanish language, the word is possibly a dimin ...

s. The UN reported that 173 of the victims were under the age of 18. UPC leader

Thomas Lubanga Thomas Lubanga Dyilo (born 29 December 1960) is a convicted war criminal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the first person convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He founded and led the Union of Congolese Patrio ...

claimed that 400 people were killed and 500 were missing after the attack.Associated Press (1 March 2003).
Hundreds of civilians killed in Congo clashes
''. Retrieved on 17 July 2008. "The civilian population was very, very coldly massacred," he said.Agence France-Presse (1 March 2003).
Rebels claim 300 people are massacred in northeastern DR Congo
'. Retrieved on 17 July 2008. The attack succeeded in pushing UPC forces out of Bogoro within a few hours and, ten days later, the Lendu and Ngiti drove the UPC from Bunia.

International Criminal Court proceedings

In March 2004, the DRC government referred the situation in the country to the

(ICC).International Criminal Court (23 June 2004).
The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court opens its first investigation
''. Retrieved on 17 July 2008. In July 2007, the Court found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that two rebel leaders,

and

, bore individual criminal responsibility for

s and

committed during the Bogoro attack, and issued sealed warrants for their arrest.International Criminal Court (2 July 2007). . Retrieved on 17 July 2008.International Criminal Court (6 July 2007). . Retrieved on 17 July 2008. Both men were charged with six counts of war crimes (willful killing; inhuman treatment or cruel treatment; using children under the age of fifteen years to participate actively in hostilities;

sexual slavery Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This includ ...

; intentionally directing attacks against civilians; and pillaging) and three counts of crimes against humanity (

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

, inhumane acts and sexual slavery). They are alleged to have ordered their fighters to "wipe out" the village of Bogoro. Katanga, who had been held by the Congolese authorities since March 2005, was transferred to the ICC in October 2007. Ngudjolo was arrested by the Congolese authorities on 6 February 2008 and surrendered to the ICC.International Criminal Court (7 February 2008)
''Third detainee for the International Criminal Court: Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui''
. Retrieved on 17 July 2008. The two men will be tried jointly;International Criminal Court (10 March 2008). . Retrieved on 17 July 2008. the hearing to confirm the charges against them began on 27 June 2008.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

nbsp;— public court records relating to the ICC trial Conflicts in 2003 Massacres in 2003 Ituri conflict 2003 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2000s massacres in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2003 crimes in Africa Second Congo War Wartime sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Child soldiers in Africa Child murder in Africa February 2003 in Africa Sexual slavery during wars Child sexual abuse in wars Looting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Violence against women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Incidents of violence against girls