Warlord loses $1m reparations appeal

War crimes judges have upheld an order that a former Congolese militia leader must pay $1m in damages to his victims, after his forces rampaged through a village in 2003. Germain Katanga, a former militia commander from the Ituri province, had appealed against the compensation, arguing that it was excessive and did not reflect his role in the event. However, a report on the Daily Nation site note that Judge Howard Morrison said the purpose of reparations 'is to repair the harm that was inflicted on the victims' and where possible to try to restore things to where they were before. 'That this amount may be high is simply a result of the extent of the harm caused by the crimes for which the person was convicted,' Morrison added. The court last year awarded a symbolic $250 each to 297 people caught up in the brutal attack by Katanga's militia. Katanga is now behind bars in the DRC completing a 12-year sentence handed down by the Iternational Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.