'Beyond reasonable doubt', international court convicts notorious DR Congo rebel leader of war crimes.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, found former Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda guilty 'beyond reasonable doubt', of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, in the volatile Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), between 2002 and 2003.

The judgement was made during a public hearing in The Hague, Netherlands, after the Chamber reviewed all the evidence submitted during the trial, including documents and eye witness testimony.

Along with Mr. Ntaganda, the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and its military wing, the Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), were found to be 'at all times involved in at least one non-international armed conflict' in the north-eastern DRC district.

While the evidence did not sustain a guilty verdict in all the instances outlined by the prosecutor, it did demonstrate in relation to each count, that at least part of each charge was proven 'beyond any reasonable doubt'.

Prosecutors considered him crucial in planning and running UCP and FPLC operations, and in the ruling, Judge Robert Fremr described the warlord as a "key leader" who gave orders to "target and kill civilians".

According to the judge, 102 witnesses gave testimony, including a woman whose throat was slit by members of his forces. The judges also ruled that Mr. Ntaganda had shot dead an elderly Catholic priest.

In one attack, fighters killed 49 captured people in a banana field behind a village using "sticks and batons as well as knives and machetes".

Judge Fremr elaborated, saying that "men, women and children and babies were found in the field".

"Some bodies were found naked, some had hands tied up, some had their...