An International Criminal Court (ICC) official announced a breakthrough in the investigation into crimes committed during Sudan’s war in the Darfur region. The ICC is investigating attacks on the cities of al-Geneina and al-Fashir, where forces from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) allegedly committed crimes that bear the hallmarks of genocide against people from non-Arab tribes.
Investigation Details
Deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan stated that the ICC has obtained additional evidence linking the crimes to leadership levels, which is a significant development in the case. Khan did not specify the forces the leadership belong to and could not comment on whether warrants had been or would be applied for.
The ICC probes include testimonies from witnesses who spoke of executions and sexual violence. The court’s jurisdiction over atrocity crimes committed in Darfur from 2005 onwards was granted by the U.N Security Council.
Sudan is not a party to the Rome Statute and therefore not a member of the ICC. However, the country’s army-led government has cooperated with investigations on the most recent attacks, but has not handed over several top former leaders accused of genocide and other attacks in the earlier conflict.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
