Libyan accused of war crimes has been arrested in Germany, ICC says

El Hishri will remain in custody in Germany until legal proceedings to have him transported to The Hague are completed. (AP)
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Updated 18 July 2025
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Libyan accused of war crimes has been arrested in Germany, ICC says

  • El Hishri will remain in Germany until his transfer to The Hague
  • The ICC thanked German authorities for their cooperation

THE HAGUE: A Libyan accused by the International Criminal Court of crimes against humanity and war crimes has been arrested in Germany on a sealed arrest warrant, the court announced Friday.
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri was allegedly one of the most senior officials at Miriga Prison in Tripoli where thousands of people were detained. He was arrested Wednesday based on a warrant issued by the court on July 10.
“He is suspected of having committed directly himself, ordered or overseen crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence, allegedly committed in Libya from February 2015 to early 2020,” the ICC said in a statement.
El Hishri will remain in custody in Germany until legal proceedings to have him transported to The Hague are completed.
The court relies on other countries to execute its arrest warrants. It paid tribute to German authorities for detaining El Hishri.
“I thank the national authorities for their strong and consistent cooperation with the Court, including leading to this recent arrest,” ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler said in a statement.
The United Nations Security Council called on the ICC to open an investigation in Libya in 2011 amid violence that led to the toppling of Muammar Qaddafi and morphed into a crippling civil war. The court issued a warrant for the longtime Libyan strongman, but he was killed by rebels before he could be detained.
The court has arrest warrants out for eight other Libyan suspects, including one of Qaddafi’s sons. Earlier this year, authorities in Libya accepted the court’s jurisdiction over the country from 2011 through to the end of 2027.


Sudanese paramilitary drone attack kills 50, including 33 children in Kordofan, doctor group says

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Sudanese paramilitary drone attack kills 50, including 33 children in Kordofan, doctor group says

CAIRO: A drone attack by the Sudanese paramilitary forces hit a kindergarten in south-central Sudan, killing 50 people, including 33 children, a doctors’ group said.
Paramedics on the scene in the town of Kalogi in South Kordofan state were targeted in “a second unexpected attack,” the group said in a statement late Friday.
The death toll is expected to be higher, but communication blackouts in the area have made it difficult to report casualties.
Thursday’s attack is the latest in the fighting between the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, also known as the RSF, and the Sudanese military, who have been at war for over two years. It is now concentrating in the oil-rich Kordofan states.
“Killing children in their school is a horrific violation of children’s rights,” said UNICEF Representative for Sudan Sheldon Yett in a statement Friday.
“Children should never pay the price of conflict,” said Yett.
He said UNICEF urges all parties “to stop these attacks immediately and allow safe, unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to reach those in desperate need.”
Hundreds of civilians were killed throughout the Kordofan states in the last few weeks as intensified fighting shifted from Darfur after the RSF took over the besieged city of el-Fasher.
Sudanese military aerial strikes on Sunday killed at least 48 people, mostly civilians, in Kauda, South Kordofan.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned that Kordofan could face new atrocities like those in el-Fasher.
RSF’s violent takeover of el-Fasher was marked with executions of civilians, rapes and sexual assaults, and other atrocities. Thousands escaped and thousands more are feared killed or trapped in the city.
The RSF and the Sudanese military have been fighting for power over Sudan since 2023. More than 40,000 people were killed in the war, according to the World Health Organization, and 12 million displaced. However, aid groups say the true death toll could be way higher.