20120407
AFP
Former Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, said Friday he had not followed other ex-rebels who deserted from the army in recent days.

"I am here, I'm not afraid," Ntaganda, who holds the rank of general in the Democratic Republic of Congo, told AFP in the eastern city of Goma, as an aide handed out a list of complaints from the defectors.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in 2006 for Ntaganda, whose nickname is "Terminator", for charges of using child soldiers to fight for him in his militia group, the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP).

Ntaganda was chief of staff of the CNDP before it was integrated into the army in 2009 under a peace deal designed to end the conflict in eastern Congo, which at its height saw multiple rebel groups and several African countries do battle in the unstable region.

Ntaganda's aide gave journalists a memorandum with a list of the deserters' grievances.

The unsigned document decried the "inhumane living conditions" of soldiers in the east.

"We assumed the responsibility of integrating into the army to reinforce our nation's security, in particular the peace in the east, which was under threat," the memo said.

But it said they had been underpaid, poorly fed and overlooked for promotions, and were mistrusted by their superiors.

"This causes the failure of our operations and poor living conditions for soldiers," it added.

Ntaganda's statements come after the government warned the leaders of the defection to fall into line or face justice.

Up to 300 soldiers have reportedly joined the mass desertion.