The ICC chief prosecutor says the trial will show that commanders are responsible for their troops' actions. Mr Bemba - the most high-profile figure to be tried by the ICC since it began its work in 2002 - denies the charges. The 48-year-old faces two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes. Via his lawyer, he pleaded not guilty to all of the charges as the hearing opened.
Chief ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the court that the militiamen who raped and killed hundreds of civilians in CAR in 2002-3 were under Mr Bemba's "effective authority and control". These atrocities, he added, were not isolated but committed in a "widespread and organised manner".
