The United States Embassy in Rwanda says wanted Democratic Republic of Congo war crimes suspect General Bosco Ntaganda has handed himself personally to the US authorities in the Rwanda capital Kigali.

The International Criminal Court ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Gen. Ntaganda, known as “The Terminator”, in 2006 in a charge of conscripting child soldiers, murder, ethnic persecution and rape.

Mr. Ntaganda has however denied those charges saying he is innocent and being persecuted for crimes he knows nothing about.

Those charges relate to his time as the leader of a militia in the north-eastern DR Congo between 2002 and 2003.

Most recently he was believed to be one of the leaders of the M23 rebel group, which is fighting government troops in the east of the country.

The US States Department confirmed to reporters in Washington that Mr. Ntaganda has surrendered himself to the embassy in Kigali.

“I can confirm that this morning Bosco Ntaganda, and ICC indictee and leader of one of the M23 factions, walked into U.S. Embassy in Kigali,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

“He specifically asked to be transferred to the ICC in The Hague. We are currently consulting with a number of governments, including the Rwandan government, in order to facilitate his request,’’ Ms Nuland added.

In November 2008, international journalists filmed him commanding and ordering rebel troops in the village of Kiwanja, 90km (55 miles) north of Goma in DR Congo, where 150 people were massacred in a single day.

In 2009, he was integrated into the Congolese national army and made a general following a peace deal between the government and rebel troops he commanded.

However, he defected from the army last April, accusing the government of failing to meet its promises it made to the army.

It is not clear why Gen Ntaganda chose this moment to surrender himself to the ICC, but there are suggestions the split in the M23 movement has made him vulnerable.

But many political analysts also believe that maybe he is now fully prepared to prove his innocence at The Hague to save is name and reputation.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

[adrotate banner=”36″]