Child soldiers 'sent to wipe out Congo village'

Two Congolese militia leaders sent child soldiers and other fighters to wipe out a village in a revenge attack that left more than 200 dead, the International Criminal Court heard today.

The victims, including children, were shot in their sleep, cut up with machetes, burned and enslaved, prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said.

Bogoro in Congo's mineral-rich Ituri province was the base of rival militia UPC and targeted in 2003 out of revenge for earlier attacks, the court heard.

Alleged commanders, Germain Katanga, 31, and Mathieu Ngudjolo, 39, pleaded not guilty to crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, rape, sexual enslavement and pillage.

The case continues.