He has been accused of war crimes between 2002 and 2003.

 

　　Ntaganda has reportedly asked to be transferred to the International Criminal Court, ICC, after walking into the embassy in Kigali.

 

　　Victoria Nuland, is a U.S State Department spokesperson:

 

　　"I'm not in a position to speak for him as to why he chose us to facilitate his passage to The Hague. Presumably, when we complete this process, he will be in a position to speak for himself. We want to facilitate that request, as you know, we strongly support the work that the ICC is doing to investigate the atrocities committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and we're going to continue to work with the ICC in this matter."

 

　　Ntaganda denies charges of forcing the conscription of child soldiers, murder, rape and ethnic persecution.

 

　　The move marks a major advance in efforts to prosecute Ntaganda, who the ICC first indicted in 2006 for forcing children to become soldiers.

 

　　However, human rights groups claim he has been implicated in other murders, rapes, attacks on civilians and slavery during his time as a fugitive.

 

　　It is unclear why Ntaganda chose to surrender himself to the US Embassy after years at large, though a split in his rebellion movement, dubbed the M23, may be a possible reason.