July 2, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – New Darfur special prosecutor, Yasser Ahmed Mohamed, expressed his keenness to investigate war crimes and cooperate with the concerned authorities in the five states of the region where thousands of civilians have been killed during the anti-insurgency campaign orchestrated by the government.

Yasser arrived Monday to the capital of North Darfur state, El-Fasher, where he should establish his office. In accordance with the Doha peace document, a special court has to be established to handle the crimes committed in the region by tribal militias .

Speaking to the official SUNA, he said the court will deal with crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. Sudan rejects the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over its nationals and refuses to cooperate with the war crimes court.

However the ICC issued several arrest warrants against a militia leader and several Sudanese officials including President Omer Al-Bashir for his alleged responsibility of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Speaking before the National Assembly , Justice Minister Mohamed Bushara Dousa dismissed any link between the consecutive resignations of Darfur prosecutors and the investigation of crimes committed by militia leaders closely linked to the regime.

He disclosed that the first prosecutor Nimir Ibrahim was relieved for his weak performances while the second, Abdellah Al-Zamrawi who was also the undersecretary of the ministry resigned for personal reasons despites the progress he achieved in this file. The third prosecutor, Isam-Eldin Abdel- Gadir refused to reside in Darfur as stipulated in the Doha peace documents, he said.

The minister admitted before the lawmakers the difficulty of the task the prosecutor has to accomplish, adding the witnesses refuse to testify fearing reprisal. However he said the prosecution is still seeking to secure some of them.

Dousa, who is a Darfurian, stressed that law enforcement is crucial to achieve justice and human rights in the country. "We are seeking to apply the law and if we can not do so that means (our) failure," he emphasized.

(ST)