Lawyers for the man dubbed Colonel Rambo say he was tortured after his arrest in the CAR last month.

Alfred Yekatom drew his pistol and fired into the air in Parliament in Bangui when police came to arrest him.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda say this shows the man is prone to violent acts.

He will appear again on April 30 neat year to face charges of murder, mutilation, torture and recruiting child soldiers.

Yekatom led the Christian Anti Balaka  movement fighting Muslim Seleka rebels who overthrew President Francois Bozize in 2013.

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No date has been set for the hearing in The Hague of the man who was known as Rambo.

Alfred Yekatom led a Christian militia called the Anti Balka against the Muslim Seleka rebels who overthrew President Francois Bozize in 2013.

The rebels killed 20 South African soldiers acting as advisors to the Central African Republic President.

Yekatom gained notoriety as an MP when he fired a shot into the parliament in Bangui.

He’s facing charges of murder, deportation, persecution, torture and attacking civilians – all aimed at Muslims.

He’s also charged with recruiting child soldiers under 15-years-old

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The fighting between Muslim ex-Seleka militia  and Christian anti-balaka rebels has taken on an religious tone that is relatively new to the country.

Once full villages in the north of the Central African Republic have been emptied and destroyed. The burned out houses are charred, with their thatched roofs totally gone. Inside the homes, evidence of a left-behind life is scattered throughout in the ashes: pots, pans, and bicycle frames. Other homes are looted with the doors kicked in and papers torn up.

The violence recalls the fighting and communal clashes that plunged the country into chaos nearly four years ago. Aid workers say the renewed violence has been a major setback.

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Armel Soyo was seized by unidentified militants after attending a church service in the capital Bangui.

Armel Soyo’s kidnappers were demanding an $8 000 ransom.

It isn’t known if this was paid before he was delivered to security forces yesterday.

In an audio recording released after his abduction, Soyo said his captors linked his kidnapping to the recent arrest of Rodrigue Ngaibona, chief of the Christian anti-balaka militia, by UN troops

Ngaibona’s wanted for the deaths of dozens of Muslims two years ago.

In that year, CAR descended into anarchy and violence when Muslim seleka rebels removed President Francois Bozize, a Christian who had come to power in a 2003 coup.

The country has been plagued by tit-for-tat violence between Christian anti-balaka militiamen and former seleka fighters.

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