ICC Prosecutor Investigate Mass Murder In Sudan Mastered By RSF

The Condition of Sudanese / UNFPA DOC

JAKARTA - Prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are gathering evidence of alleged mass killings and rapes after paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized al-Fashir//El Fasher-the military's last stronghold in the Darfur region, Sudan.

The ICC is investigating allegations of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur since 2005 when the case was first referred to by the UN Security Council, long before the current civil war erupted in 2023.

"In an ongoing investigation, the office is taking immediate steps regarding alleged crimes in (al-Fashir) to store and collect relevant evidence that will be used in prosecution in the future," prosecutor ICC said in a statement.

More than 70,000 people have fled from al-Fashir so far.

Survivors told Reuters about the separation and killing of people who left the city of Darfur for safety.

Experts say the reported violence has characteristics as before in Darfur which is widely labeled as genocide.

The fate of nearly 200,000 people who are expected to be trapped in the city is still unknown.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters on the weekend history was repeated in Darfur with the arrest of al-Fashir by RSF, which gave him de facto control over more than a quarter of Sudanese territory.

Last month, the ICC, based in The Hague, sentenced the first Janjawed militia leader to trial for atrocities committed in Darfur more than 20 years ago.

The ICC can try suspected perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and in some cases of aggression crimes if they are carried out in the territory of one of the 125 member states of the court, or by members of the ICC, or when a case is referred to by the UN Security Council.