Sudan warns ICC of probe into alleged Darfur war crimes

KHARTOUM, June 6, 2005 (Xinhua) — Sudan stressed on Monday that a probe by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into alleged war crimes in Darfur could torpedo efforts to achieve peace in the country.

A displaced Sudanese man looks at his destroyed house after militiamen burnt the Sereaf village, in west Darfur along the Sudan and Chad border, April 22, 2005. (Reuters).

“It is surprising that the ICC declaration was made while a government delegation is preparing to head to Abuja (capital of Nigeria) for talks with rebels on Friday to seek a political settlement,” said Najeeb el-Kheir Abdu-el-Wahab, minister of state of the Foreign Ministry.

He said such a move by the ICC could poison the atmosphere for the talks and send a wrong signal to rebels.

Earlier in the day, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands, launched an official inquiry into suspected war crimes in the Sudanese western region of Darfur.

“The investigation will be impartial and independent, focusing on the individuals who bear the greatest criminal responsibility for crimes committed in Darfur,” the ICC said in a statement.

The United Nations Security Council voted in March to refer the case to the ICC, the world’s first permanent global criminal court established in 2002 to try cases of genocide and major human rights violations.

A special UN commission has drawn up a list of 51 people suspected of murder, rape and plunder.

The Sudanese government has repeatedly voiced its opposition to the referral of the Darfur issue to the ICC, saying Sudan will prosecute war crimes suspects itself.

Thousands of people have been killed and many more displaced since conflicts erupted in Darfur in February 2003 when local rebels took up arms against the government for negligence.

The 53-nation African Union has deployed about 2,300 troops to monitor a shaky ceasefire in Darfur, but sporadic violence continues.