Sudan to face ICC war crimes probe

THE HAGUE, June 6 (AFP) — The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague was expected on Monday to announce the launch of a war crimes probe into atrocities committed in Sudan’s western Darfur province, sources here said.

The village of Um Ziefa in Sudan’s Dafur burns after attack by Janjaweed militia on Dec. 12, 2004. (Photo Brian Steidle).

The court’s chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was expected to make the announcement, was initially unavailable for comment.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has given the ICC the names of 51 suspected war criminals, following an international investigation into abuses in Darfur, torn by a conflict that has claimed an estimated 180,000 lives.

The United Nations inquiry in January found that Sudanese government forces and militias had committed abuses including murder, torture, rape and pillage in the suppression of the two-year-old ethnic minority uprising in Darfur.

It established that war crimes and human rights violations had been committed in the province, while falling short of the definition of genocide.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in early April calling for the 51 named suspects, including senior officials, to face prosecution before the ICC, overriding strong opposition from Khartoum.

Sudan has vowed to defy the Security Council’s demand for international prosecution of the officials, security force and militia commanders accused of violations in Darfur.

Between 180,000 and 300,000 people have been killed and 2.4 million made homeless in Darfur since a rebel uprising in early 2003 prompted Khartoum to unleash militias in a scorched-earth campaign.

Annan, on a visit to the region late last month, warned that time was fast running out to save Darfur.