Mick Hartley

From Reuters:

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor will name the first suspects accused of committing war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region next Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.

Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in December his investigators had found evidence of rape, torture, murder and sexual violence in Darfur. His announcement is keenly awaited to see if he charges government figures as well as rebels.

Experts say around 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million others driven from their homes in Darfur since 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government, charging it with neglect. Khartoum says only about 9,000 people have died.

“Moreno-Ocampo will submit evidence, in connection with named individuals, of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur,” his office said in a statement, adding that the prosecutor would hold a news conference at 1300 GMT on Feb. 27.

Once Moreno-Ocampo has filed the evidence, pre-trial judges will decide whether to issue summons or arrest warrants for the named individuals. Formal charges will only follow later.

Here’s the ICC press release.

(Via Coalition for Darfur)