ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Former Central African Militia Leader
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) publicly announced an arrest warrant for a former Central African militia leader, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in 2014.
“The Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) unsealed an arrest warrant issued in the Central African Republic II situation on 7 December 2018 against Mr. Edmond Beina,” stated the ICC in a press release.
The warrant pertains to crimes against humanity and war crimes reportedly committed between February and April 2014 in Guenn, a village located in the western part of the Central African Republic, by the former anti-Balaka militia leader Edmond Beïna, who was then commanding a group comprising between 100 and 400 members.
The civil war that erupted following the ousting of former Central African President François Bozizé in 2013 by a coalition of rebels known as Séléka marked one of the most devastating conflicts in the history of the Central African nation, characterized by widespread massacres of civilians.
In response, Bozizé organized militias predominantly composed of Christians and animists, called anti-Balakas, in a bid to regain power. Consequently, thousands of Muslim civilians, particularly in the west of the country, became the primary victims of the atrocities perpetrated by these militias.
Prosecutors from the ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, reported that Beina and his unit surrounded the small village of Guenn in February 2014 and killed its inhabitants.
