ICC Prosecutor Seeks Rebel Arrests in Darfur

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), asked judges for arrest warrants for three Sudanese rebel leaders on November 20.  The rebels have been accused of a deadly attack against African Union peacekeepers in northern Darfur. 

Moreno-Ocampo said the rebel leaders planned and led an attack of 1000 rebels in September 2007.  The attack, against the Haskanita camp in Darfur, left 12 peacekeepers dead and another eight wounded.  Moreno-Ocampo accused the rebels of committing war crimes, including pillaging, murder and attacking peacekeepers.  The suspects names were not released.

“They know who they are,” Moreno-Ocampo said in an Associated Press interview.

African Union peacekeepers said that at the time of the attack, they suspected splinter group from the Sudan Liberation Army, SLA-Unity, was behind the attacks.  The announcement was welcomed by rights groups.

“Civilians rely on peacekeepers for protection, and any hope for restoring security for civilians in Darfur depends on peacekeepers being able to do their job,” said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. 

SLA-Unity leaders denied their group’s involvement.  Suleiman Jamous, an SLA-Unity leader, said his group is innocent and, if necessary, would go to court to prove it. 

“If we are asking (Sudanese President Omar) al-Bashir to hand himself in, then there is no reason we should stand in the face of justice when it is our turn,” Jamous said from Slovenia.  “We have evidence to prove that the government did it,” Jamous said.

According to a summary of the case, the rebels ransacked and looted the camp.  Moreno-Ocampo’s request comes after a July appeal for an arrest warrant for President al-Bashir.  Moreno-Ocampo asked judges to issue the warrant on genocide charges, accusing him of orchestrating atrocities including rape and murder of civilians in refugee camps.

Moreno-Ocampo’s request is the first against the rebels in Darfur and the ICC’s first case accusations of violence against peacekeepers.  To date, approximately 300,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced in the five year conflict in Darfur. 

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Int’l Court Prosecutor Seeks Darfur Rebels’ Arrest – 20 November 2008

BBC – ICC Seeks Rebel Arrests in Darfur – 20 November 2008

CNN – Sudan Rebels Wanted Over Peacekeepers’ Deaths – 20 November 2008

Reuters – UN Probes Reports of Violations in Darfur Ceasefire – 20 November 2008