The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Edmond Beina, a suspected leader of a militia group, TRT Afrika reported.
Beina is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including mass killings, murder, rape, and persecution, committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2014.
The warrant, issued in 2018 but made public recently, alleges that Beina led attacks on Muslim civilians in the western part of the country.
In one particularly incident, his group is accused of storming a village and executing dozens of men and boys.
Years of violence
The Central African Republic has been plagued by violence since 2013, when Seleka militia fighters forced then-President Francois Bozize from office.
Opposing militias fought back, also targeting civilians and sending most of the Muslim residents of the capital, Bangui, fleeing in fear.
Prosecutors allege that Beina was involved in crimes in the village of Guen in the country’s west from February to April, 2014, including murdering Muslim civilians.
He also commanded other fighters who carried out crimes, his warrant says.
Civilian murders
In one incident, prosecutors allege that Beina and his fighters stormed the compound of a Muslim community leader in Guen, where about 300 displaced people, including women and children, were sheltering.
“Beina separated the civilians into groups and, at gunpoint, ordered the men and boys to lie down. Then, Beina summarily executed several Muslim men and boys with his Kalashnikov rifle, emptying one magazine and another,” the warrant said.
“Beina ordered his men to finish off any survivors,” it added, saying that at least 42 Muslim men and boys were killed in the attack.
Three other alleged rebels from the Central African Republic are currently on trial at the court for their alleged roles in the sectarian violence in the country.
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