War crimes warnings from UN and UK on Darfur Sudan

The International Criminal Court is busy collecting evidence in Darfur, reports the Scotsman Oct 1.

Arabic news notes an Associated Press report Oct 1 quoting a senior British official:

"Those who commit atrocities in Darfur will face trial by the ICC, International Development Secretary Hilary Benn said Saturday.

"The government of Sudan has should be under no doubt whatsoever, we (the international community) are serious about our commitment to support the International Criminal Court," he said.

"It is doing its work and those who are committing these crimes will in the end be brought to account."

Photo: Senior British official Hilary Benn issued a call to both sides in Darfur to halt the latest violence and return to negotiations. [Photo PA/Virgin.net]
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5,600 African Union peacekeepers presently in Darfur

In the latest incident in Darfur on Wed Sep 28, 34 men were reported to have been killed in an attack by hundreds of Arab militias, riding horses and camels, on the Aro Sharow refugee camp in western Darfur.

On this, UN envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk Fri Sep 30 said:

"The names of the individuals responsible for the attack, when known, will be reported to the Security Council... as well as to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court."

A report today by the BBC on War crimes warnings over Darfur estimates 5,600 peacekeepers from the African Union are on the ground in Darfur.



Photo: Rwandan soldiers from the last of the three battalions in Kigali deploying in Darfur western Sudan as part of an African Union mission, 30 September 2005, board a US Air Force C-130 heading for El Fasher, Sudan. When the airlift is completed Rwanda will have deployed more than 1800 men in Darfur. (AFP/Helen Vesperini/Yahoo) 30 Sep 2005

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa war crimes ICC