The first trial addressing atrocities in Darfur opens at the International Criminal Court today, nearly 20 years after the Sudanese region was racked by widespread violence that left hundreds of thousands dead. Darfur
An exterior view of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Piroschka van de WouwAn exterior view of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
and crimes against humanity, including persecution, murder, rape and torture. “ is a momentous day for victims and survivors in Darfur who never stopped fighting to see the day the cycle of impunity is broken,” Sudanese human rights lawyer Mossaad Mohamed Ali of the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies said in a statement.
The alleged Janjaweed leader voluntarily surrendered to The Hague-based court in June 2020 after 13 years on the run. The trial comes amid an upsurge in what humanitarian groups say is inter-communal violence in Darfur since the end of the United Nations and African Union mission there.