Survivors of the reign of terror inflicted by Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in Uganda have told the BBC they welcome the move by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to confirm charges against the group's leader Joseph Kony.
An arrest warrant was issued for him in 2005, but he remains at large - believed to be hiding in the Central African Republic (CAR).
On Thursday, the ICC said he was being charged with 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, using child soldiers, sexual slavery, and forced pregnancy.
A woman abducted by the LRA as a child and forced to become one of Kony's wives said she hoped the move would renew efforts to capture him.
I cannot be happy like other women who went to school. I need justice for women who went through abduction like me, Evelyn Amon, 42, told the BBC.
She spent 11 years in the bush with the LRA after being abducted from her home at age 11 - and she said she even forgot her own name as the rebels called her Betty Achol.
Ms. Amon added that victims like her wanted him to be tried so they could receive compensation from the court, which cannot begin until Kony is arrested and present in The Hague.
The LRA was formed by Kony in the late 1980s in northern Uganda, claiming its goal was to install a government based on the biblical Ten Commandments. The group gained notoriety for their brutal tactics, including amputation and capturing sex slaves.
Despite several attempts to capture him and a reward offered by the US, Kony remains a fugitive. Survivors and advocates call for justice and accountability, seeking hope that Kony’s trial will one day be realized.
