Two alleged leaders of a mostly Christian militia operating in the Central African Republic will face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity against the nation’s Muslim community.
The individuals who will face trial are senior officials of an anti-Balaka militia, Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona and Alfred Yekatom. These individuals are accused of crimes against civilians including “murder, rape, forcible displacement, pillaging, cruel treatment, torture and persecution”.The individuals named have not entered into pleas as of yet.
In an earlier court judgement made in September, the presiding judges maintained a;
”unanimous decision partially confirming the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity”.
The attacks against Muslims were noted in a context following the coup in the CAR in 2013, where Muslim forces known as the Seleka forced President into exile.
The UN has stationed thousands of peacekeepers in the region despite an agreed-upon peace agreement earlier this year, likely due to the political volatility of the country.
Read Al Jazeera's reporting here.
