Dakar, June 22 (APS) – The International Criminal Court issued on Friday an international arrest warrant against Iyad Ag Ghaly for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in northern Mali between January 2012 and January 2013 at the head of the Ansar Dine group, an armed movement very active at that time in this part of Malian territory.
Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC, notably, at the request of the prosecutor, made public the arrest warrant against Iyad Ag Ghaly for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the north of Mali. The warrant was initially issued under seal on July 18, 2017, indicates the international court on its official website.
The ICC considers that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Ghaly, nicknamed Abou Fadl, is the undisputed leader of Ansar Dine, who had control at the time of the events in Timbuktu jointly with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( AQIM).
Iyad Ag Ghaly, a native of the Kidal region, is suspected of murders of soldiers outside of combat in Aguelhoc, of rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence, bodily harm among others in this which concerns war crimes.
Concerning the crimes against humanity for which the responsibility of this Malian of Tuareg ethnicity, member of the Ifoghas tribe, the ICC, among other things, targeted acts of poisoning, deprivation of physical liberty, torture and inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering or serious harm to physical integrity.
AKS/AB
