KAMPALA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- A court in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Monday started a pre-trial of Jamil Mukulu, a former leader of the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) operating in the jungles of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mukulu and 33 others who appeared before the International Crimes Division of the High Court are facing charges of terrorism and multiple murders.
Solomon Muyita, a senior judiciary communication officer, told Xinhua that the pre-trial session will last at least 30 days.
Mukulu, whose rebel group carried out several attacks in the capital Kampala in the 1990s, is facing charges of terrorism, murder, kidnapping and recruitment of children.
He is also charged over attacks including the 1998 Kichwamba Technical Institute massacre in the western district of Kabarole, in which about 80 students were killed, and charges of murdering top Muslim leaders in the capital, Kampala.
The former rebel leader, who had evaded arrest for the last 20 years, was arrested in Tanzania in March 2015 where he was applying for a travel document for his child. He was extradited to Uganda in June.
The ADF was formed in the 1990s in Uganda, and has been active in eastern DRC in recent years. It has been accused of killing, kidnapping and recruitment of child soldiers in Uganda and DRC.
The group is blamed for the December 2017 killing of at least 15 United Nations peacekeepers and five DRC soldiers. More than 50 others were also injured in the attack in North Kivu province.
