ICC official says breakthrough made in Darfur investigations

The International Criminal Court (ICC) say it made a breakthrough in investigating crimes committed during Sudan's conflict in the Darfur region allowing prosecutors to link them to leadership.

"We have got additional evidence, strong evidence, linking what is occurring in Darfur with leadership levels. And we are very, very pleased to say that this is a breakthrough for us," deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told Reuters, after a visit to eastern Chad to meet victims of the attacks.

Khan did not specify the forces the leadership belong to and could not, according to ICC rules, say whether warrants had been or would be applied for.

"We ⁠are confident that there are going to be results in at least a reasonable time," she added, without giving a timeframe.

Sudan is not a party to the Rome Statute, and therefore not a member of the ICC, but the UN Security Council gave the court jurisdiction over atrocity crimes committed in Darfur from 2005 onwards. 

The country's army-led government has cooperated with investigations on the most recent attacks but has not handed over several top former leaders accused of genocide and other attacks in the earlier conflict.

No public warrants have yet been issued ⁠during the current war, which began in April 2023.