The International Criminal Court issued, this Friday, June 21, 2024, an arrest warrant against Iyad Ag Ghaly, one of the leaders of the Tuareg rebellion and leader of one of the branches of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (‘AQIM’) ), for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in northern Mali between January 2012 and January 2013.
‘Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court has, at the request of the Prosecutor, made public the arrest warrant against Iyad Ag Ghaly,’ the ICC said in a statement, specifying that the warrant for The arrest had been requested by the prosecutor and was issued under seal on July 18, 2017. Mr. Ghaly is not detained by the ICC.
Mr. Ghaly, also known as ‘Abou Fadl’, was born in the Kidal region, of Malian nationality, of Tuareg ethnicity, and member of the Ifoghas tribe. ‘There are reasonable grounds to believe that he is the undisputed leader of Ansar Dine, which at the time had control of Timbuktu, Mali, jointly with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghre
b (‘AQIM’). added the ICC.
He is suspected of being responsible for war crimes, including the murder of soldiers hors de combat in Aguelhoc; rape, sexual slavery and any other form of sexual violence, bodily harm.
In the charges of crimes against humanity, the ICC prosecutor cites imprisonment or other form of serious deprivation of physical liberty, rape and sexual slavery, but also persecution on religious grounds, as well as persecution of women and girls for sexist reasons.
These crimes were allegedly committed in Mali, in Timbuktu between January 2012 and January 2013, and for the crime of murder of soldiers, in Aguelhoc on January 24, 2012.
‘Mr. Ghaly would be responsible for having committed these crimes, jointly or with other people; for ordering or encouraging their commission, or giving aid, aid or other assistance, or contributing in any other way; and/or as a military leader,’ detailed the ICC.
The Court requested the Registry to prepare a request for cooperation in the arrest and surrender o
f the suspect, and to address it to the competent authorities of any relevant State and/or any other relevant authority.
Source: Burkina Information Agency