Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri
In early 2003, he emerged as the senior commander of the FRPI, a militia group which was involved in the conflict in Ituri. On 24 February 2003, Katanga allegedly led an attack on the village of Bogoro in which rebels under his command went on an "indiscriminate killing spree", killing at least 200 civilians, imprisoning survivors in a room filled with corpses, and sexually enslaving women and girls. It has also been alleged that Katanga helped lead other crimes, including the massacre of more than 1,200 civilians in an attack at Nyakunde Hospital in September 2002.
On 11 December 2004, Katanga was one of six former militia leaders appointed as generals in the DRC army as part of a peace process.
He was arrested by the Congolese authorities in early March 2005 in connection with the killing of nine United Nations peacekeepers in Ituri on 25 February 2005. He was held without charge until his transfer to the ICC in October 2007. On 1 November 2005, a United Nations Security Council committee imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on Katanga for violating an arms embargo.
Read more about this topic: Germain Katanga
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