The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor announced plans to pursue arrest warrants against those accused of committing atrocities in Sudan’s West Darfur region, where paramilitary forces have reportedly engaged in ethnic cleansing amid a 19-month conflict with government forces.
Addressing the U.N. Security Council on Monday, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan emphasized that crimes are currently being used as weapons of war in Darfur. This conclusion, he stated, is based on a rigorous analysis of evidence gathered by his office.
Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 due to escalating tensions between military and paramilitary leaders, starting in Khartoum and spreading to Darfur. The region has a grim history of genocide and war crimes, particularly by the Janjaweed militias, which killed up to 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million during the early 2000s.
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Khan highlighted the ongoing involvement of government forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – a paramilitary group evolved from the Janjaweed – in alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. He noted “very clear echoes” of the 2003 atrocities in the current conflict, with the same groups and communities suffering anew.
The Biden administration recently declared the RSF and its affiliates responsible for genocide during Sudan’s ongoing civil war. Human Rights Watch has also reported intensified attacks by the RSF and allied militias on non-Arab ethnic groups, including the Masalit, in El Geneina, West Darfur’s capital, during 2023. Thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced during these assaults.
Khan confirmed that the ICC is preparing applications for arrest warrants related to alleged crimes in West Darfur, with particular attention to gender-based violence against women and girls. While no specific names or charges were disclosed, he stressed the urgent need for compliance with international humanitarian law to prevent further suffering.
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Efforts to engage with the RSF included recent meetings between ICC representatives and paramilitary leaders. Khan expressed hope for meaningful action and vowed to monitor the situation closely.
He concluded with an appeal for humanity, urging all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law “not as a charity, but as a necessity dictated by humanity.”