Evidence Supports War Crimes Allegations in Darfur, I.C.C. Prosecutor Says
'The humanitarian position has reached an intolerable state,' the court's deputy prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan, told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday. 'People are being deprived of water and food. Rape and sexual violence are being weaponized. Abductions for ransom or to bolster the ranks of armed groups have become common practice.'
Among the court's worst findings was 'an inescapable pattern' of women and girls being raped or subjected to other sexual violence because of their gender and ethnicity, Ms. Khan said.
While Ms. Khan did not specify who had committed the war crimes in the court's findings, both of the warring parties in the civil war have previously been accused of atrocities by officials from the United States, the United Nations and human rights groups.
The determination that war crimes were being committed came after the prosecutor's office collected about 7,000 pieces of evidence, including the testimony of victims, Ms. Khan said. Investigators have made repeated trips to speak with victim groups and to interview witnesses in refugee camps in neighboring Chad, where many people from Darfur have fled.
Sudan's civil war erupted in April 2023 and the brutal fighting has killed tens of thousands of people, driven millions more from their homes and caused widespread famine.
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