war crimes

Libya's Bold Embrace: Hanging in the Balance of Justice In a remarkable turn of events, Libya has embraced the International Criminal Court's authority to investigate potential war crimes within its borders, a decision laden with historic significance and potential impacts far beyond its own tumultuous borders. Despite not being a signatory to the Rome Statute, this commitment to international justice conveys a potent message to a world often torn between sovereignty and accountability. The ICC's chief prosecutor, Karim…

U.N.-backed human rights investigators called Friday for the establishment of an "independent and impartial force" to safeguard civilians in Sudan, condemning both warring sides for war crimes such as murder, mutilation and torture. They also warned that foreign governments supplying arms or financial support could be complicit. In their first report since being formed by the U.N.'s main human rights body last October, the fact-finding team further accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and…

Starvation as a Weapon: The Catastrophic Fallout of Sudan's Conflict Independent U.N. specialists have denounced the ongoing conflict in Sudan, accusing warring factions of weaponizing hunger. A dire report from a non-governmental organization warns that famine could claim the lives of up to three million individuals in this devastated African nation. Sudan descended into turmoil in April 2023 when the tensions between the national military and the notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into violent confrontations in…

Chadian authorities on Monday handed over a former Central African militia leader to the International Criminal Court on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Hague-based court announced.…

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on an Eritrean official it accused of being involved in serious human rights violations in the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, where thousands of people have been killed and more 2 million displaced people.…

Sudan will hand over longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court along with other officials called for the Darfur conflict, Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi said on Wednesday. "The Cabinet decided to hand over wanted officials to the ICC," Mahdi was quoted as saying by state media. Bashir, who ruled Sudan with an iron fist for three decades before being ousted from popular protests in 2019, is charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The UN says 300,000 people…

A tablet provided by a mercenary for the Russian Wagner group in Libya provides evidence of the mercenaries' involvement in mining and booby trapping of civilian areas and other possible war crimes, BBC News reported on Wednesday. The investigation, mostly conducted through evidence from the tablet's contents, has revealed the extent of operations by the shadowy Russian mercenary group in Libya's civil war, which include links to war crimes and the Russian military. As the BBC reported, they also managed to gain rare…

A Swiss court on Friday sentenced a West African rebel to 20 years in prison for rape, murder and cannibalism, which he committed during Liberia's civil war. The case was also Switzerland's first war crimes tribunal in a civil court. It involved 46-year-old Alieu Kosiah who went under the nom de guerre "bluff boy" in the rebel faction United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) who fought against former President Charles Taylor's army in the 1990s. Kosiah faced 25 charges including one…

Dominic Ongwen, a Ugandan child soldier who became commander of the infamous Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), was sentenced to 25 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court on Thursday. Ongwen, 45, whose nom de guerre was "White Ant", was found guilty in February of 61 charges, including murder, rape and sexual addiction during a period of terror in the early 2000s by the LRA, led by the fugitive Joseph Kony. Prosecutors had asked for a 20-year prison…

After terrorizing Libya's Tarhuna for several years during their rule over the city, the Kaniyat militia has still not been held accountable for its war crimes as authorities continue to locate mass graves. "They spared no child, no woman, no old man," said Mohamed Amer, mourning the murdered under the reign of terror by six brothers who ruled the Libyan city with bloodshed. "I am the father of the martyr Moaid, cold-blooded killed by the criminal gang Kaniyat," said Amer, a silver-haired father in his…