ICC alleges ethnic massacres in Darfur
Rory Carroll, Africa correspondent

The Guardian

The International Criminal Court has documented the massacre and rape
of thousands of civilians in Darfur, according to its top prosecutor.

Investigators found evidence of ethnic cleansing and crimes against
humanity in the war-torn Sudanese province, Luis Moreno Ocampo said in
a report submitted on Wednesday to the UN security council.

Witnesses said three ethnic groups - the relatively dark-skinned Fur,
Massalit and Zaghawa - were singled out for persecution by forces
loyal to the government in Khartoum.

"In most of the incidents ... there are eyewitness accounts that the
perpetrators made statements reinforcing the targeted nature of the
attacks, such as 'we will kill all the black' and 'we will drive you
out of this land,'" the report said.

Tribes in the western province rebelled in 2003, provoking a crackdown
by the Sudanese military and a pro-government Arab militia known as
the Janjaweed.

Two million people have been displaced and more than 180,000 killed in
what has been described by some aid agencies as the world's worst
humanitarian crisis.

A UN investigative commission concluded last year that crimes against
humanity had been committed. The security council charged the
international criminal court, which is based in the Hague, to
prosecute those responsible.

Mr Moreno Ocampo said his investigators had compiled a Darfur crimes
database which documented thousands of civilian deaths, hundreds of
alleged rapes and several massacres. He also said the Sudanese
authorities had failed to prosecute the alleged perpetrators, giving
the ICC an opportunity and duty to fill the vacuum.

The prosecutor said his team, which had not gained access to the
province because of security concerns, would focus on several
massacres and press charges as each investigation was concluded.

"My office currently anticipates the investigation and prosecution of
a series of cases, rather than a single case dealing with the
situation in Darfur as a whole," he said. Khartoum was cooperating
with his team, he added.

Sudan's ambassador to the UN, Elfatih Mohamed Ahmed Erwa, told
reporters his country's judicial system had prosecuted, convicted and
sentenced many people for crimes in Darfur.

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