Former Congolese rebel leader ends his hunger strike at ICC

Former Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda, on trial at the International Criminal Court has ended his hunger strike.

This is according to his lawyer, Stephane Bourgon, in an email sent late Tuesday.

Ntaganda had recently launched a hunger strike in his detention cell in Netherlands, to protest against his prison conditions including over family visits and that the court is not giving him a fair trial.

His advocate also says that if everything goes well, his wife will be in the Hague from Thursday and be able to see her husband in an almost private setting which meet his minimum expectations.

The once-feared rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo faces 18 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities allegedly committed by his troops from 2002-2003.

He was accused for having played a central role in the Ituri conflict in the far northeast of the DRC, which rights groups believe left some 60,000 people dead since 1999.