The International Criminal Court is close to launching prosecutions against war crimes suspects in Sudan's Darfur region.
While prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo did not name any of those suspected of atrocities including murder, rape and torture, he said investigators have proof of crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, rape, torture, deliberate attacks on civilians, persecution and forcible expulsions.
"Based on a careful and thorough source evaluation of all the evidence collected, we were able to identify the gravest incidents and some of those who could be considered to be the most criminally responsible," Moreno-Ocampo told a meeting of states that have ratified the Hague-based court.
More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since rebels from ethnic African tribes rose up against the Arab-led central government in the vast arid area of western Sudan that is roughly the size of Texas.
Khartoum is accused of using the janjaweed militias of Arab nomads to retaliate but the government denies backing or arming the janjaweed.
U.N. investigators have blamed the janjaweed for the worst atrocities such as murders, rapes, arson and looting.
Moreno-Ocampo's announcement came a day after U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said there has been a "dramatic deterioration" in Darfur, where 4 million Sudanese are in desperate need of help as newly rearmed Arab militias and rebels escalate attacks and resume looting and burning villages.
Richard Dicker, of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said he was very pleased with the ICC prosecutor's announcement.
He it came in "the context of ongoing horrific crimes being carried out both by the Sudanese armed forces and janjaweed militia against innocent civilians who remain at risk of the kinds of arbitrary killings, rape, torture and mutilations that have characterized the conflict in Darfur since 2003-2004."
Dicker also dismissed Sudan's move to set up a court for crimes in Darfur, saying it did little beyond "pay lip service" to prosecuting atrocities in the region.
AP