SUDAN: The International Criminal Court in the Hague yesterday launched an investigation into alleged war crimes in Sudan's western region of Darfur, two years after the world first became aware of widespread atrocities.
Human rights groups welcomed the announcement as the first step to bringing justice to the millions of civilians forced from their homes by the government-backed Janjaweed militia.
However they also warned that the investigation would be limited by the Khartoum government's refusal to hand over its citizens for trial abroad.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, ICC prosecutor, yesterday called on all interested parties to provide evidence.
"The investigation will require sustained co-operation from national and international authorities," he said. "It will form part of a collective effort, complementing African Union and other initiatives to end the violence in Darfur and to promote justice."
The United Nations estimates that 180,000 people have died and more than two million have fled their homes as result of civil war in Darfur.
Separatist rebels took up arms in 2003, accusing the Government of discriminating against non-Arabs. Khartoum responded by arming Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, and launching them on a scorched-earth policy.
Since then the UN has repeatedly accused the Khartoum government of not doing enough to disarm the militias, despite Security Council resolutions threatening further action if the Janjaweed - accused of raping civilian women and burning non-Arab villages - were not brought under control.
An investigation established by Kofi Annan, UN secretary general, concluded earlier this year that crimes against humanity were being committed in the region and recommended that the ICC investigate further. The report included the names of 51 war crimes suspects - thought to include government figures and Janjaweed commanders.
Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch said: "The ICC prosecutor's decision to investigate mass slaughter and rape in Darfur will start the wheels of justice turning for the victims of these atrocities." However David Mozersky, Sudan analyst with the International Crisis Group, said the ICC investigation was a good first step but was likely to be hampered by Khartoum. "The ICC was brought in because the Government had not fulfilled its judicial obligations but no one is expecting the ICC to mobilise international forces to go into Sudan and arrest suspects. The result is an awkward situation given the Government's direct role in the problem."
Last night Sudan said it would not welcome investigations by the ICC. "If they want to observe what is going on from the ICC and others, they are welcome (but) if they want to start trials of the Sudanese this is not acceptable," Majzoub al-Khalifa, the head of the government's Darfur talks team, told Reuters. The government says it will not send any citizen to a court outside its territory but may be willing to conduct its own trials.