Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Prosecutor links Sudan government to Darfur crimes

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court charges that "the whole state apparatus" of Sudan is implicated in crimes against humanity in the Darfur region, linking the government directly with the feared janjaweed militia.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo says in a report to the U.N. Security Council, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, that he has uncovered evidence showing "high officials" in the Sudanese government are linked to many horrendous attacks in Darfur.

Atrocities include killing, torture and rape of civilians, even girls as young as 5 or 6, with their parents forced to watch, the report says. It also says senior Sudanese officials are linked to the burning and looting of homes, bombing of schools and destroying of mosques.

The report does not identify any officials or present evidence of specific crimes. A spokeswoman said Moreno-Ocampo would name names and present evidence to the Security Council next month.

"This is the first time he's saying, well, there's basically a mobilization of the entire state apparatus," said Florence Olara, a spokeswoman for Moreno-Ocampo at the court in The Hague, Netherlands. "It's based on evidence from ongoing investigations in Darfur. He's looking at ongoing crimes, especially crimes targeting the 2.5 million already displaced in Darfur." Read more >>>>>>>

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