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Darfur rebel to appear before ICC Darfur rebel appears before ICC
(about 23 hours later)
A Darfur rebel charged with war crimes has been ordered to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, The Hague-based court says. A Darfur rebel charged with war crimes has appeared before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Bahr Idriss Abu Garda is charged with taking part in an attack in north Darfur in 2007, during which 12 African Union (AU) peacekeepers were killed.Bahr Idriss Abu Garda is charged with taking part in an attack in north Darfur in 2007, during which 12 African Union (AU) peacekeepers were killed.
Mr Abu Garda is the first Darfur rebel to have voluntarily answered a summons from the ICC, the court said. Mr Abu Garda, 46, is the first person from the Darfur conflict to appear before the ICC. He denies the charges.
The former senior member of the Jem rebel group denies any involvement. Sudanese officials, including the president, have been accused of war crimes but have not gone to The Hague.
"I will go, no problem. I know I was not involved," Mr Abu Garda, who now heads the United Resistance Movement (URF) rebel group, was quoted as saying by Reuters. Mr Abu Garda handed himself in to the court on Sunday.
The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people have died in a six-year conflict in Sudan's Darfur region and millions more have been displaced. "The court appreciates very much your volunteer appearance," Judge Cuno Tarfusser told him at the start of proceedings, reports the AFP news agency.
"You have sent out a very good message."
The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people have died in a six-year conflict in Sudan's Darfur region and more than two million more have been displaced.
No arrest warrantNo arrest warrant
Mr Abu Garda was due to appear for an initial hearing on Monday afternoon, the ICC said in a statement. Mr Abu Garda, wearing a grey suit, told the court he understood the charges, according to the AP news agency.
It said he was charged with three war crimes allegedly committed during the attack at the Haskanita AU camp in September 2007. He is charged with three war crimes allegedly committed during the attack at the Haskanita AU camp in September 2007.
ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has called the attack "the most serious attack against peacekeepers in Darfur."
No arrest warrant was issued as Mr Abu Garda had shown a willingness to appear before the ICC, prosecutors said.No arrest warrant was issued as Mr Abu Garda had shown a willingness to appear before the ICC, prosecutors said.
Jem (Justice and Equality Movement) said that they had helped collect the evidence against Mr Abu Garda. Jem (Justice and Equality Movement) said that they had helped collect the evidence against Mr Abu Garda, who has since left Jem to set up the United Resistance Movement (URF).
In March, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was indicted on war crime charges, which were the first issued by the ICC against a sitting president.In March, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was indicted on war crime charges, which were the first issued by the ICC against a sitting president.
In a BBC interview earlier this month, President Bashir dismissed the charges as propaganda.In a BBC interview earlier this month, President Bashir dismissed the charges as propaganda.
The Aegis Trust, a genocide campaign group, said Mr Abu Garda's arrival at The Hague increased the pressure on others, particularly the Sudanese government, to follow suit. The ICC has also issued indictments for two other senior Sudanese officials over the Darfur conflict.
Black African rebel groups took up arms in 2003, accusing the government of ignoring the region.
The government denies accusations that it then mobilised Arab militias to take revenge on the local population, in what the US and others has called a genocide.