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African Union to establish war crimes court for South Sudan

South Sudan does not recognize the International Criminal Court, and the African Union has in the past accused the war crimes authority of not being impartial.

By Fred Lambert
Civilians dwell in camps at a U.N. compound on the southwestern outskirts of Juba, South Sudan, on Dec.17, 2013. On Tuesday, the African Union announced it would establish a court to try war crimes suspects in South Sudan. An inquiry showed both sides have committed atrocities in the country's 21-month-old conflict. File photo by Julio Brathwaite/UPI
Civilians dwell in camps at a U.N. compound on the southwestern outskirts of Juba, South Sudan, on Dec.17, 2013. On Tuesday, the African Union announced it would establish a court to try war crimes suspects in South Sudan. An inquiry showed both sides have committed atrocities in the country's 21-month-old conflict. File photo by Julio Brathwaite/UPI

JUBA, South Sudan, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The African Union on Tuesday announced it will establish a war crimes court for South Sudan, which has since 2013 been locked in a civil war that has killed thousands.

The BBC quoted AU officials as saying an inquiry showed both rebel and government forces have committed atrocities in the 21-month-old conflict, which began when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy, Riek Machar, of plotting a coup. Machar denied the charge but then led a rebellion against the Kiir government.

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The formation of the court would provide an "African solution" to the allegations, the AU said, as South Sudan does not recognize the International Criminal Court at The Hague, in the Netherlands.

Likewise, the African Union has in the past accused the war crimes authority of failing to operate impartially -- a claim refuted by the ICC.

The laws of the court, which was reportedly sprung from an agreement signed last month by Kiir and Machar at the behest of regional leaders, would be based on a mixture of South Sudanese and international law.

The announcement comes after a June report by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan suggested widespread human rights abuses by the Sudan People's Liberation Army, including raping and burning of girls.

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"Horrific crimes have been committed against civilians in this war," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday. "The social fabric of South Sudan has been shattered. To mend it, the provisions in the peace agreement related to justice, accountability and reconciliation must be implemented in full."

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