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Exiled Congo opposition leader arrested in Belgium

KINSHASA
Sat May 24, 2008 7:29pm EDT

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Exiled Congolese opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba was arrested by Belgian authorities in Brussels on Saturday on an International Criminal Court warrant for war crimes committed in the Central African Republic.

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"Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, President and Commander in Chief of the Mouvement de Liberation du Congo (MLC), is alleged to be criminally responsible for four counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the Central African Republic from 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003," the ICC said in a statement on its Website.

Bemba, a former rebel leader who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo last year saying he feared for his life, is wanted in connection with what the ICC says was a campaign of killings and mass rapes of civilians carried out by his rebel forces in the neighboring Central African Republic.

His MLC insurgents, who also fought in Congo's 1998-2003 war, intervened in Central African Republic in support of then President Ange Felix Patasse, who was battling rebels led by Francois Bozize who subsequently toppled Patasse in a 2003 coup and is the current head of state in the former French colony.

Both Bemba, who had been in exile in Portugal, and Patasse, who lives in exile in Togo, deny the war crimes accusations.

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/)

(Reporting by Joe Bavier; Writing by Pascal Fletcher)
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