Court probes Uganda rebel abuses

Children are frequently abducted by the LRA rebels

The International Criminal Court is to investigate the Ugandan rebel organisation, the Lord's Resistance Army.

The court announced the decision during a meeting between the chief prosecutor and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

It is the first time a state has asked the court to act.

In a statement the court, based in the Hague, said that locating and arresting the leadership of the LRA was a key issue.

The court said that the 17-year conflict in Uganda had seen 20,000 children being abducted and abuses including rape, murder and beatings.

It said that if the prosecution was to go ahead it would require the co-operation of the Ugandan authorities.

President Museveni first sought the intervention of the newly formed court in December.

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Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has determined that there is a sufficient basis to start planning for its first investigation.

But the court - formed in 2002 - cautioned that it could take several months to decide whether to launch a formal investigation.

A statement released by the court said that Uganda would need to call on other countries and international institutions to locate and arrest the rebel leadership.

A similar task was faced by Nato-led forces in the Balkans to capture war crimes suspects wanted by the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

The LRA operates in northern Uganda, and is led by self-proclaimed mystic Joseph Kony.

Most members of the LRA are believed to be aged 11 to 15, but some are younger - they are frequently beaten and forced to become porters.