The warrant is not the first to be issued against rogue general Ntaganda, pictured, who calls himself "the terminator."

He was first placed on the Hague court's wanted list in 2006 for recruiting child soldiers.

"Mr Ntaganda, approximately 41 years old, is suspected of committing war crimes and/or crimes against humanity, from 1 September 2002 to the end of September 2003, in the context of the conflict in the Kivus," the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague said.

Kinshasa accuses its smaller eastern neighbor Rwanda of providing funds, weapons and troops to Ntaganda's militia from across the border. The M23 has recently conquered several towns in Nord-Kivu province in recent days.

The court also announced a warrant had been issued against Sylvestre Mudacumura, a Rwandan Hutu rebel leader based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The 58-year-old is alleged to be a field commander in the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, also known by the French acronym FDLR. Rwanda claims that the FDLR is a proxy for the DRC to conduct operations against it.

On Tuesday, the court sentenced Ntaganda's one-time comrade Thomas Lubanga to 14 years imprisonment for using child soldiers. He became the first war criminal to be convicted and sentenced by what is the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal.

rc/slk (AFP, AP)