Congolese 'Terminator' faces war crimes judgement

Congolese ex-warlord Bosco Ntaganda will face judgement before the International Criminal Court next month for allegedly overseeing massacres and using children in his rebel army, the tribunal said Monday.

Ntaganda, nicknamed "Terminator", is accused of masterminding the slaughter of civilians by his soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile northeastern Ituri region in 2002 and 2003.

The Hague-based ICC said in a statement that it "will deliver its judgement in the case of Bosco Ntaganda on July 8 at 10.00 am (0800 GMT)".

"At the hearing the Trial Chamber will announce whether it finds the accused innocent or guilty beyond reasonable doubt," it added.

Ntaganda, 45, is facing 13 counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity for his role in the brutal conflict that wrecked the mineral-rich Ituri region.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since the violence erupted in the region in 1999 according to rights groups, as militias battled each other for .