N'DJAMENA, July 9 - A senior official at the International Criminal Court (ICC) said investigators have made what she described as a "breakthrough" in connecting crimes committed during the war in Sudan's Darfur region to leadership levels. The comments followed a visit to eastern Chad where the official met survivors of the attacks.
Deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said investigators had obtained "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." She did not identify which forces the leadership belonged to, and, in line with ICC rules, declined to say whether warrants had been requested or issued.
Her remarks referred to probes into major episodes of violence in two Darfur cities. The investigations cover the 2023 attacks on al-Geneina and a takeover of al-Fashir last year. United Nations experts have said forces from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces committed crimes in those attacks that bear the "hallmarks of genocide" against people from non-Arab tribes.
Khan told Reuters she was "confident that there are going to be results in at least a reasonable time," but she did not supply a timetable for when those results might be announced.
Evidence and the challenge of linking leaders to crimes
In prosecutions of senior political or military figures, establishing a direct link - what prosecutors call "linkage evidence" - between orders at the top and atrocities committed by lower-level perpetrators is frequently difficult. Such evidence typically comprises insider testimony or documentary records that show political leadership had knowledge of, or gave instructions about, operations on the ground.
ICC investigators say they have gathered testimony and other material in the Darfur probes. Khan said witnesses had recounted executions and sexual violence, and that the court would ensure those accounts were presented during proceedings. "We will ensure [their stories] are also told in the course of our proceedings," she said.
A documentary examining the al-Fashir takeover identified several leaders from the Rapid Support Forces either committing assaults or present during attacks, drawing on interviews and analysis of video posted online. Khan said the ICC probes included similar testimonies collected by ICC investigators.
Control on the ground and cooperation with investigators
Both al-Geneina and al-Fashir remain under the control of the Rapid Support Forces, which emerged as a dominant armed actor during the conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF that has persisted for more than three years. Khan told the United Nations Security Council in January that the RSF had not cooperated with investigations.
The RSF has said it did not deliberately target civilians during those attacks and that it would hold individual perpetrators to account.
Sudan is not a party to the Rome Statute and is therefore not a member of the ICC. Nevertheless, the U.N. Security Council has given the court jurisdiction over atrocity crimes committed in Darfur from 2005 onwards, enabling ICC probes despite Sudan's non-membership.
The country's current army-led government has engaged with inquiries into the most recent attacks, but has not handed over several top former leaders who face accusations of genocide and other crimes from earlier phases of the Darfur conflict.
To date, no public warrants have been issued in relation to the current war, which began in April 2023.
Scope of jurisdiction and questions about external support
When asked whether individuals in other countries alleged to have supported the commission of crimes could be pursued by the court, Khan noted a key legal limitation: the ICC's jurisdiction applies to people who contribute to crimes, not to states. She said the court was concentrating on acts committed inside the two cities in order to "achieve concrete results."
Expert filings to the court have identified the United Arab Emirates as a state that provided support to the RSF; the UAE has denied any connection to the fighting.
Political context for the court
Three West African Sahel countries - Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso - announced last year their intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute. The ICC said on July 1 that those countries had submitted letters initiating a withdrawal process, which requires one year to complete.
Khan expressed hope that the withdrawing states might reconsider. "I hope they change their minds because I see a great virtue in being part of the Rome Statute family. I think it protects the world," she said.
Separately, Khan and other ICC staff currently face sanctions from the United States following the court's issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Those sanctions have become part of the diplomatic backdrop against which the court is conducting its Darfur investigations.
As the ICC continues to collect testimony and material related to the violent episodes in al-Geneina and al-Fashir, the court is emphasizing individual accountability within defined geographic incidents. Investigators describe the newly gathered evidence as significant for establishing the connection between crimes on the ground and higher-level decision-makers, while stopping short of identifying specific organizations or announcing legal steps that might follow.