Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo fr

Between October 2002 and March 2003, there was an armed conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR). The conflict was between a rebel movement led by François Bozizé, former Chief of Staff of the CAR armed forces and a segment of the national armed forces of the then President Ange-Félix Patassé who was allied with the combatants of the Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC) led by Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo.

Other foreign armed forces, including from Chad, were allegedly involved in the conflict. The ICC has deemed that the situation can either be categorised as an international conflict or as a conflict of a non-international character.

Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is accused of three counts of crimes against humanity (murder, torture, rape) and five counts of war crimes (murder, torture, rape, degrading treatment and pillaging).

On 24 May 2008 Bemba Gombo was arrested by Belgian authorities near Brussels and transferred to the ICC in The Hague on 3 July 2008. The warrant of arrest for Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is the first warrant issued concerning the situation in the CAR.

Situation in Central African Republic