ICC prosecutors ask judges to drop Darfur rebel leader case

International Criminal Court prosecutors on Tuesday recommended that judges drop war crimes charges against Abdallah Banda, a rebel leader from Sudan's Darfur region, over a deadly 2007 attack on African Union peacekeepers.

Banda had faced three counts of war crimes for his alleged role in an assault on the Haskanita military base in north Darfur. The attack killed 12 African Union peacekeepers.

Prosecutors said there were "no longer substantial grounds" to believe Banda was responsible. They cited the significant deterioration of evidence over time and said available investigative avenues had been exhausted.

Banda's exact age is unclear, but he was born in 1963. He initially appeared before the ICC in 2010 and told judges that others accused of similar crimes should come to the court in The Hague to plead their innocence.

A trial first scheduled for 2014 was cancelled, and a warrant was issued for Banda's arrest after the court concluded that he was unlikely to attend voluntarily. Prosecutors said that in the more than 10 years after he absconded from justice, the case had weakened.

The prosecutor's office said unavailable or uncooperative witnesses, serious credibility issues involving some other key witnesses and recently obtained exculpatory evidence had undermined the case.

Prosecutors had first made the request to drop the case in October 2023, but it was confidential and has only now been approved for publication.

ICC deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said the office did not take the decision lightly and acknowledged its impact on victims who had waited years for justice. She said prosecutors would continue investigating alleged crimes in Darfur, which remains a key priority for the office.

Former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir remains wanted by the ICC over his role in the bloody 2003 Darfur conflict, which pitted ethnic African minority rebels complaining of discrimination against his Arab-dominated government.