A Sudanese Darfur rebel leader appeared before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Monday charged with war crimes over the killing of 12 African Union (AU) peacekeepers in 2007.
Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, the first rebel to appear before the ICC, has denied involvement in the deaths.
At his first appearance after voluntarily agreeing to attend, he confirmed he had been informed of the charges against him and was not asked to enter a plea. He thanked the court for making arrangements for him to attend.
Under questioning by Judge Cuno Tarfusser, Abu Garda said he commanded a resistance movement.
“I am a political commander by profession,” he added.
Abu Garda, 46, chairman of the United Resistance Front, is accused with two other rebels of orchestrating what AU officials described as the bloodiest assault on peacekeepers since the Darfur conflict began in western Sudan in 2003.
“I am looking forward to clearing my name from this case. I am absolutely not guilty of all charges,” he said later at a news conference outside the court.
The AU peacekeepers, now a joint AU-UN force, have been unable to end the fighting that UN officials say has caused up to 300,000 deaths and the displacement of 2.7 million people.
Khartoum says 9,000 people have been killed.
The conflict erupted after rebels took up arms against the government in 2003.
In March this year, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was indicted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Bashir has denied all charges.
Sudan said on Sunday the prosecution of Abu Garda had not changed its opinion of the ICC, which it has dismissed as part of a Western plot.
“We are sticking to our position that no Sudanese person should be handed over to the court, even a Darfur rebel,” Sudanese Foreign Ministry official Ali Youssef Ahmed said.
Abu Garda appealed to all Sudanese accused of crimes in Darfur, including Bashir, to face justice.
He called on the outside world to put pressure on the Sudanese government to allow humanitarian aid back into Darfur.
Abu Garda, who arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday on a commercial flight, was free to leave the country again after Monday’s hearing.
The judge said a hearing would be held on Oct. 12 to determine whether there was enough evidence to put Abu Garda on trial.
Defense lawyer Karim Khan said it was too early to say whether his client would attend the October hearing, which could be held in his absence.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
UNSCHEDULED VISIT: ‘It’s a very bulky new neighbor, but it will soon go away,’ said Johan Helberg of the 135m container ship that run aground near his house A man in Norway awoke early on Thursday to discover a huge container ship had run aground a stone’s throw from his fjord-side house — and he had slept through the commotion. For an as-yet unknown reason, the 135m NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just meters from Johan Helberg’s house in a fjord near Trondheim in central Norway. Helberg only discovered the unexpected visitor when a panicked neighbor who had rung his doorbell repeatedly to no avail gave up and called him on the phone. “The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don’t like to open,” Helberg told television