The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has stated that there are grounds to believe that Sudan’s conflicting military groups are involved in war crimes in the Darfur region.
Addressing the UN Security Council on Monday, Khan disclosed that his office is amassing “a very significant body of material, information, and evidence” indicating that Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have committed acts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression in Darfur.
The investigation initiated by Mr. Khan’s office commenced in July of the previous year, shortly after clashes erupted between Sudan’s army and the RSF.
Darfur remains one of the regions most profoundly affected by the ongoing conflict, forcing over half a million refugees to seek safety in Chad to escape the violence.
Mr. Khan also issued a warning that the situation in Darfur is intensifying and called upon Sudan’s authorities to cooperate with the ICC’s investigations.
Previously, the UN and human rights groups expressed concerns following reports alleging that the RSF and allied forces engaged in ethnic cleansing attacks, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of ethnically African Masalit people in West Darfur.
There is a looming fear that the present conflict may escalate into a deeper crisis, reminiscent of the early 2000s, when over 300,000 people lost their lives and millions were displaced in Darfur, marked by targeted ethnic cleansing attacks.