THE HAGUE: The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court warned Monday that atrocities committed in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher could constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
After 18 months of siege, bombardment and starvation, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of the city on October 26, dislodging the army’s last stronghold in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
The ICC prosecutor’s office (OTP) voiced “profound alarm and deepest concern” over reports from El-Fasher about mass killings, rapes, and other crimes allegedly committed.
“These atrocities are part of a broader pattern of violence that has afflicted the entire Darfur region since April 2023,” said the OTP in a statement.
“Such acts, if substantiated, may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute,” the founding text of the ICC, added the OTP.
The UN has said more than 65,000 people have fled El-Fasher, including around 5,000 to the nearby town of Tawila, but tens of thousands remain trapped.
Before the final assault, roughly 260,000 people lived in the city.
Since the RSF takeover, reports have emerged of executions, sexual violence, looting, attacks on aid workers and abductions in and around El-Fasher, where communications remain largely cut off.
The RSF traces its origins to the Janjaweed, a predominantly Arab militia accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago.
Reports since El-Fasher’s fall have raised fears of a return to similar atrocities.
Last month, the ICC convicted a feared Janjaweed chief for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur more than two decades ago.
The ICC found Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre Ali Kushayb, guilty of multiple crimes, including rape, murder and torture carried out between August 2003 and at least April 2004.
The OTP referenced this verdict, saying it should serve as a warning “that there will be accountability for such atrocious crimes.”
The ICC retains jurisdiction over alleged crimes in the ongoing conflict in Darfur, it recalled, appealing for evidence to be upshipped to its secure link.
The chief prosecutor of the ICC, British lawyer Karim Khan, is currently on leave as he faces allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.
Deputy prosecutors have taken over the caseload while the investigation is ongoing, as well as a high-profile case against former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte.
The ICC has also issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s campaign in Gaza.
ICC prosecutor: Sudan violence could be war crimes
https://arab.news/v226b
ICC prosecutor: Sudan violence could be war crimes
- Atrocities committed in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher could constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity
US Congress moves toward repeal of tough ‘Caesar’ sanctions on Syria
- The Caesar sanctions, the most stringent restrictions, can only be removed permanently by an act of Congress
- Several Saudi Arabian firms are planning billion-dollar investments in the country as part of Riyadh’s drive to support the country’s recovery
WASHINGTON: A set of tough US sanctions imposed on Syria under its former leader Bashar Assad could be lifted within weeks, after their repeal was included in a sweeping defense policy bill unveiled during the weekend and due for votes in Congress within days. The Senate and House of Representatives included repeal of the so-called Caesar sanctions, a move seen as key to Syria’s economic recovery, in a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a sweeping annual defense policy bill that was unveiled late on Sunday.
The provision in the 3,000-page defense bill repeals the 2019 Caesar Act and requires regular reports from the White House certifying that Syria’s government is fighting Daesh militants, upholding religious and ethnic minority rights within the country and not taking unilateral, unprovoked military action against its neighbors, including Israel.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Sanctions relief seen as key to Syrian economic revival
• US bill including repeal expected to pass within weeks
• Trump has temporarily lifted sanctions, Congress must approve permanent relief
The NDAA is expected to pass by the end of this year and be signed into law by President Donald Trump, whose fellow Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate and lead the committees that wrote the bill. Lifting the sanctions is considered a key to the success of Syria’s new government. Several Saudi Arabian firms are planning billion-dollar investments in the country as part of Riyadh’s drive to support the country’s recovery. The US sanctions have been a significant obstacle to Syria’s economic revival.
Trump announced plans to lift all sanctions on Syria during a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in May, and his administration has suspended them temporarily. However, the Caesar sanctions, the most stringent restrictions, can only be removed permanently by an act of Congress.
The 2019 Caesar Act imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Syria targeting individuals, companies and institutions linked to Assad, who was the president of Syria from 2000 until his ouster in 2024 by rebel forces led by Sharaa. Syrian central bank Governor AbdulKader Husrieh told Reuters last week that the country’s economy was growing faster than had been expected. He described the repeal of many US sanctions as “a miracle.”
The sanctions are named after a Syrian military photographer, code-named “Caesar,” who smuggled out thousands of gruesome photos documenting torture and war crimes by Assad’s government.
