Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mohamed was also found guilty of crimes against humanity. The charges included flogging, sexual slavery and the destruction of historic sites in the ancient city of Timbuktu, the 822-page report said. trial verdict.
The restive West African country has seen an influx of armed terrorist groups more than a decadeincluding those associated with Al Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIL/Da’esh).
Amputations and floggings
Court prosecutors said the 46-year-old, also known as Al Hassan, played a key role in Ansar Dine, one of the armed groups that seized power in northern Mali and orchestrated a reign of terror in the regional capital Timbuktu.
According to files The trial, which started in 2020, accused him of overseeing amputations and flogging when he acted as the group’s “de facto head of Islamic police” between April 2012 and January 2013.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Mr Ag Mahmoud on 27 March 2018, and he surrendered to the court four days later.
He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with sentencing to take place at a later date.
UN is working to scale up aid to Sudanese caught up in a humanitarian crisis
UN humanitarians and partners are working to scale up the response to tackle the deepening humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Khartoum and other “hotspots” in war-torn Sudan, the UN spokesman said on Wednesday.
The situation in and around North Darfur’s besieged capital El Fasher – where Rapid Support Forces militias have surrounded the last government-held town in the region – remains “extremely worrying”, said Stéphane Dujarric.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) highlighted that more than 400 children have reportedly been killed and maimed in the recent escalation of fighting there.
Fatal conditions
“The continued use of explosive weapons in populated areas poses further risks to both civilians and aid workers,” Mr Dujarric added.
Meanwhile, the World Food Program (WFP) has distributed emergency food and nutrition supplies to more than 135,000 people in Al-Jazirah state in the east-central part of Sudan.
This is the first time WFP supplies have reached Sudan’s former breadbasket since the conflict spilled over into the capital Wad Madani last December, forcing WFP to temporarily relocate.
Elsewhere, a WFP convoy carrying more than 2,300 tonnes of food aid to some 164,000 conflict-affected men, women and children crosses the border from Chad into Darfur and en route to North and Central Darfur.
About 14 million children – more than half of Sudan’s 24 million children – are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
UN Police Summit to highlight the role of law enforcement for peace
Government leaders and police chiefs are meeting at UN Headquarters in New York for a summit to further strengthen the role of police personnel as crucial catalysts for peace.
The fourth UN Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS) begins on Thursday and aims to build on the momentum of recent high-level peacekeeping initiatives, reinforcing the importance of multilateralism.
The official theme is Advancing Our Common Security: UN Policing for a New Era.
Participants will hold discussions to “strengthen international peace, security and development for all through the unifying power and enabling role of national and UN police.”
UN photo/Eskinder Debebe
Jean-Pierre Lacroix (right), Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, and Faisal Shahkar, UN Police Advisor, brief reporters on the Fourth United Nations Police Chiefs Summit (UNCOPS 2024).
An opportunity presents itself
During a briefing to journalists on Wednesday, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Peacekeeping Operations, said UNPOL (the UN police agency) is providing expertise and support to Member States on request.
This brings the challenge of dealing with the pressures and impacts of climate change, environmental degradation, transnational crime and global terrorism.
“That is why we place great emphasis, especially in our capacity building activities, on strengthening the rule of law capacities of the Member States we work with, and in particular we have helped them better address these challenges,” said Mr Lacroix .
