Al-Hassan Ag Abdul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mohamed was also found guilty of crimes against humanity, including flogging, sexual slavery and the destruction of historic sites in the ancient city of Timbuktu, according to the 822-page judgment.
For more than a decade, the unstable West African country has faced an influx of armed terrorist groups, including those with links to al-Qaida and the Islamic State (ISIL/Daesh).
Amputation and whipping
Prosecutors said the 46-year-old man, also known as al-Hassan, was a key figure in Ansar Dine, one of the militant groups that seized power in northern Mali and waged a reign of terror around the regional capital, Timbuktu.
According to case records from a trial held in 2020, he was charged with acting as the group's “de facto Islamic police chief” from April 2012 to January 2013 and overseeing amputations and floggings.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Ag Mahmoud on March 27, 2018, and he appeared in court four days later.
He faces life in prison, with the sentence to be carried out at a later date.
UN seeks to boost aid for Sudan amid humanitarian crisis
A UN spokesman said on Wednesday that UN humanitarian organisations and partners were working to scale up the response to address the deepening humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Khartoum and other “hotspots” across war-torn Sudan.
The situation in and around El Fasher, the capital of besieged North Darfur state, remains “extremely worrying,” Stephane Dujarric said, as Rapid Support Force militias surround the last government-held city in the area.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) highlighted that more than 400 children are reported to have been killed or injured in the recent escalation of fighting in the area.
Deadly Situation
“The continued use of explosive weapons in populated areas poses additional danger to civilians and aid workers alike,” Dujarric added.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) distributed emergency food and nutrition supplies to more than 135,000 people in Al Jazeera state in central-eastern Sudan.
This is the first time WFP supplies have reached Sudan's former breadbasket since fighting spread to the state capital, Wad Madani, in December last year, forcing the organization to temporarily relocate.
Meanwhile, a WFP convoy carrying more than 2,300 tonnes of assistance to some 164,000 men, women and children affected by the conflict is crossing the border from Chad into Darfur and heading towards 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 highlights role of law enforcement for peace
Government leaders and police chiefs are gathering at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for a summit to further strengthen the role of police officers as key promoters of peace.
The fourth United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS) kicks off on Thursday, aiming to build on recent momentum from high-level peacekeeping efforts and reinforce the importance of multilateralism.
The official theme is “Advancing Common Security: UN Policing in a New Era.”
Participants will engage in conversations to “strengthen international peace, security and development for all through the integrated power and role of national and UN police.”
Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix (right) and UN Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar brief journalists on the Fourth UN Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS 2024).
Opportunity Arise
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the UN Police (UNPOL) was providing expertise and support to member states upon request.
This comes with the challenge of having to address the pressures and impacts of climate change, environmental degradation, transnational crime and global terrorism.
“That is why we place a particular emphasis on capacity-building activities to strengthen the rule of law capacities of the Member States we work with, helping them to better address these challenges in particular,” Lacroix said.
