Central African Republic militia leader appears at ICC

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - A war crimes suspect from the Central African Republic (CAR) on Friday appeared before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for a pre-trial hearing.

The court heard Alfred Yekatom who commanded a group of Christian militias, known as the anti-balaka, had committed crimes against humanity, the ICC said in a statement.

He is accused of torturing, murdering and forcing tens of thousands of Muslims to flee the country from December 2013 to August 2014.

The pre-trial court said it found reasonable grounds to believe he committed or otherwise ordered the crimes.

Yekatom was arrested in CAR late last month and handed over to the court on Nov. 17.

CAR, a mineral rich country descended into conflict in 2013 after seleka rebels, said to be predominantly Muslim, ousted the government of President Francois Bozize, a Christian, and installed Michel Djotodia, a Muslim.

Thousands of both Muslim and Christian civilians have fled their homes to internally displaced peoples camps or across neighboring countries.

Despite electing a new president, the country is still plagued by tit-for-tat communal violence.