AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the Central African Republic in 2013 and 2014, Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka, a leader of the “Anti-Balaka” militia, was surrendered on Monday the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Chadian authorities.
“The Chamber has found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Mokom, (…) was a National Coordinator of Anti-Balaka Operations and, as such, is suspected of being responsible” (…) “for crimes against humanity” and “war crimes”, the ICC said in a statement.
“Mr. Mokom is suspected of having committed these crimes jointly with others and/or through others as part of a policy to target the Muslim population and other people perceived as supporting the Slka or like so many foreigners in Bangui and western CAR; or for having ordered, solicited or encouraged the commission or the attempted commission of these crimes.”
This ethnic and sectarian violence began in early 2013 when Slka rebels overthrew President Franois Boziz.
Anti-Balaka Christian militiamen fought back, and the cycle of abuses and reprisals displaced a fifth of the population, while the French army and UN peacekeepers intervened to try to stop the bloodshed.
(Bart Meijer and Stephanie van den Berg; French version Nicolas Delame)