The Republic of Chad on Monday (March 14th) handed over to the International Criminal Court the former leader of an anti-balaka armed group, Maxime Mokom, suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Central African Republic, the ICC said. .

Maxime Mokom was the leader of an armed anti-balaka group (self-proclaimed self-defense militias) allied to the main armed groups operating in the Central African Republic.

In 2019, he became Minister in charge of Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Repatriation (DDRR).

The man is suspected of crimes allegedly committed in Bangui and other locations in the Central African Republic in 2013 and 2014, the ICC said in a statement.

"reasonable grounds"

"The Chamber has found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Mokom, a national of the Central African Republic (...) was a National Coordinator of Anti-Balaka Operations," said the court, which sits in The Hague.

As such, he is notably suspected of being responsible for (attempted) murder, extermination, deportation or forced transfer of population, imprisonment, torture, persecution, cruel treatment, mutilation.  

The ICC has concluded that an armed conflict not of an international character was ongoing in the territory of the Central African Republic from at least September 2013 until at least December 2014 between the Séléka (a coalition of armed groups mainly composed of Muslims opposed to former President François Bozizé) and the Anti-Balaka (a movement opposed to the Séléka and supporting François Bozizé).

According to the ICC, there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that, from at least September 2013 to at least December 2014, an attack was carried out by the Anti-Balaka against the Muslim civilian population and those perceived to be collectively responsible, accomplices or supporting the Seleka" underlined the ICC.

Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona, former Central African Minister of Sports, and Alfred Yekatom, nicknamed "Rambo", two former Central African militia leaders detained by the ICC respectively since January 2019 and November 2018, are also accused of war crimes and crimes against the humanity during the civil war between 2013 and 2014.

With AFP

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