The International Criminal Court has unveiled the names of suspected war criminals in Sudan who have played a role in the mass killings in Darfur. Named on Tuesday were Sudanese government minister Ahmed Mohammed Harun and another man accused of being a militia leader. ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo made the announcement from The Hague.

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo: “The attackers did not, did not, target any rebel presence. Rather, they targeted civilian residents based on the rationale that they were supporters of the rebel forces. This strategy became the justification for the mass murder, summary execution and mass rape of civilians who were known not to be participants in any armed conflict.”

The Sudanese government immediately rejected the announcement.

Sudanese Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardi: “We believe that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction to try any Sudanese. We maintain our position that the crimes committed in Darfur fall under the jurisdiction of the Sudanese judiciary, which carries out investigations and weighs the evidence and presents it to the independent and impartial court that issues verdicts on them.”