LONDON — Investigators have connected Sudan's government to a militia campaign against African villagers in Darfour.
The International Criminal Court has identified a Sudanese minister as
the liaison with Janjaweed, the regime-aligned Arab militia, investigators said.
Janjaweed
has been accused by the United Nations of killing at least 100,000 people in
Darfour, Middle East Newsline reported.
Then-State Interior Minister Ahmed Haroun was named as the
financier of and liaison with Janjaweed. Haroun currently serves as humanitarian minister and is close to Sudanese President Omar Bashir.
ICC chief prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo plans to prosecute Haroun for war crimes, he said.
"Our work sends a signal: those who commit atrocities cannot do so
with impunity," Moreno-Ocampo said on Feb. 27.
The commander of Janjaweed was identified as Ali Muhammad Ali Abdul
Rahman, also
known as Ali Kushayb. The ICC has also sought to summon Abdul Rahman to
appear on war crimes charges.
The ICC prosecutor said Haroun and Abdul Rahman conspired to use
Janjaweed to attack villages and towns throughout Darfour. In a 94-page ICC
filing, the two Sudanese were accused of crimes against humanity and war
crimes in connection with Janjaweed's campaign in 2003 and 2004.
Moreno-Ocampo said statements against Abdul Rahman and Haroun were taken
from 100 witnesses. The ICC prosector said Haroun funded Janjaweed and
personally delivered weapons and ammunition to the militia in Darfour.
The witnesses said Abdul Rahman was seen ordering Janjaweed to commit
atrocities. The ICC prosecutor said Abdul Rahman inspected a group of naked
women before they were raped by men in military uniforms.
Moreno-Ocampo said Abdul Rahman also participated in the execution of
African villagers. In one incident, he said, the Janjaweed commander helped
kill at
least 32 men.
Janjaweed was said to consist of at least 10,000 fighters. UN officials
said the fighters were armed, trained and supported by the Sudanese military
and paid, in part, by the booty they seized in raids on villages in Darfour.
The ICC was told that Abdul Rahman left Janjaweed and has since been
employed by the police in western Darfour.
Khartoum has rejected the ICC request to hand over Abdul Rahman and
Haroun. The Sudanese regime said the ICC did not have the jurisdiction to
try Sudanese nationals. Haroun was in Jordan in late February for medical
treatment.
"All the evidence the [ICC] prosecutor referred to is lies given to him
by people who bear arms against the state, bear arms against citizens and
kill innocent citizens in Darfour," Sudanese Justice Minister Mohamed Ali Al
Mardi said.
