International Criminal Court unveils arrest warrant against Central African Republic militia leader

​​​​​​​By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) unveiled an arrest warrant Thursday against Edmond Beina, a suspected leader of a militia that is accused of attacking Muslim civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2014.

Beina is accused of crimes against humanity, including murder and attempted murder, extermination, rape and persecution as well as war crimes – with the intentional attack against the civilian population, pillaging, murder and attempted murder, the ICC said in a statement.

The crimes were allegedly committed between February and April 2014 when Beina led a group of armed men known as the Anti-Balaka in attacking the village of Guenn in the western part of the country, according to the warrant that was issued in 2018 but made public Thursday.

The attacks allegedly killed at least 22 Muslims and led to the displacement of the civilian population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty.

The central African nation has been devastated by violence since 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted then-President Francois Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias. The ICC has been investigating the violence in CAR since May 2014.