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.
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