Sierra Leone's special war crimes court handed down its first verdicts on Wednesday, finding three leaders of a militia guilty of war crimes that included killing, raping and mutilating civilians.
The verdicts against Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu stem from charges related to Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war, which also target former Liberian President Charles Taylor, facing a separate trial in The Hague.
Among other charges, the three were found guilty of forcing children aged under 15 to fight, the first time an international tribunal has ruled on the recruitment of child soldiers. "These convictions are a ground-breaking step toward ending impunity for commanders who exploit hundreds of thousands of children as soldiers in conflicts world-wide," US-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement.