A renegade Congolese general wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes has resumed his recruitment of child soldiers in his fight against the Government, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigation.
General Bosco Ntaganda defected from Congo's army in April after President Joseph Kabila announced plans to arrest him. Fighters loyal to him have recruited at least 48 children from villages in North Kivu, the HRW report said.
"Ntaganda is once again committing the very crimes against children for which the International Criminal Court has been demanding his arrest," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior HRW Africa researcher.
Clashes between Ntaganda's insurgents, thought to number between 300 and 600, and the army have caused thousands to flee an area long plagued by armed groups still using weapons from a 1998-2003 civil war.
Ntaganda had fought as a rebel in northeastern Congo in 2002-2003, but he was integrated into the army along with other insurgents as part of a 2009 peace deal. The ICC has been seeking his arrest since 2006 on charges including murder and rape.
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