Amsterdam - Proceedings in the trial of former Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo began in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Monday.

Lubanga, 48, faces charges of recruiting child soldiers during the brutal civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1998 and 2008.

He is the first suspect to be brought for trial before the court, which is the world's first permanent tribunal authorized to deal with serious war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and his militia allegedly trained hundreds of children and subsequently forced them to fight in ethnic conflict.

Lubanga was arrested in the Congolese capital Kinshasa in 2005. He has been in the custody of the ICC since March 2006.

The hearing was expected to continue throughout the day. (dpa)