DR Congo warlord Bemba jailed over war crimes

                                 

Congolese ex-rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba has been jailed for 18 years following a landmark conviction at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and sexual violence.

Bemba, a former vice-president of DR Congo, was convicted in March of crimes committed in the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002-2003.
He was accused of failing to stop his rebels from killing and raping people.
Bemba's lawyers have already said they will appeal against his conviction.
Judges announced sentences of between 16 and 18 years for five counts of rape, murder and pillaging, with the jail terms running concurrently. The eight years Bemba has already spent in custody will be deducted from his term.
His conviction was the first time the ICC had focused on rape as a weapon of war, and the first time a suspect had been convicted for crimes committed by others under his command.
Passing sentence at the ICC in The Hague, Judge Sylvia Steiner said Bemba had failed to exercise control over his private militia sent into CAR, where they carried out "sadistic" rapes, murders and pillaging of "particular cruelty".

• 1998: Was helped by Uganda to form MLC rebel group in Democratic Republic of Congo
• 2003: Becomes vice-president under peace deal
• 2006: Loses run-off election to President Joseph Kabila but gets most votes in western DR Congo, including Kinshasa
• 2007: Flees to Belgium after clashes in Kinshasa
• 2008: Arrested in Brussels and handed over to ICC
• 2010: Trial begins
• 2016: Found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity