SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Human Rights Watch – Sudan’s Pardon of Militia Leader Sends Wrong Message
Human Rights Watch assistant researcher Mohammed Osman calls for Sudanese authorities to “vigorously investigate” Musa Hilal, “who gained notoriety playing a well-documented role leading the Janjaweed militia and serving as a government advisor, as serious crimes were committed in Sudan’s Darfur conflict between 2002 and 2005.”
Osman adds that the government “should also take concrete steps towards establishing and operationalizing accountability mechanisms laid out in the Darfur peace agreement that include cooperation with the International Criminal Court and setting up a special court for Darfur”.
Osman also notes Hilal’s “direct involvement” in abuses, citing Hilal “taking women prisoners at a market in 2004, who’s whereabouts remained unknown until a year later.”