Mick Hartley

No senior government figures cited by the ICC, but that was only to be expected. From the BBC:

The International Criminal Court has named the first suspects accused of committing war crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, including both a former Sudanese state interior minister and a militia commander.

The ICC’s chief prosecutor, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, asked pre-trial judges at The Hague to issue summons against Ahmed Haroun, state minister of interior at the height of the conflict, and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, a key leader of the Arab Janjaweed militia who is accused over some of the worst Darfur atrocities.

In a written statement, Mr Moreno-Ocampo said there was reason to believe that the pair held “criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes” committed in 2003 and 2004, including murder, torture and rape. […]

Today’s announcement follows a two-year investigation by Mr Moreno-Ocampo and his team looking into accusations of persecution, torture, rape and murder in Darfur.

Focusing on events said to have occurred between 2003 and 2004 – the most violent period of conflict – investigators have visited 17 countries and conducted more than 100 interviews.

Today will see Mr Moreno-Ocampo presenting evidence against those named to judges at The Hague who will decide whether to open a formal inquiry and issue arrest warrants. Sudan has rejected the ICC’s authority, arguing that the country’s judiciary is perfectly capable of trying its own criminals.

“This court has no jurisdiction when it comes to trying Sudanese,” Mohammed Ali al-Mardhi, the Minister of Justice, was quoted as saying on Monday.