ICC drops war crimes charges against Central African Republic's Maxime Mokum

Oct. 19 (UPI) -- The International Criminal Court said Thursday charges against Maxime Mokom have been dropped. Mokom had been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Central African Republic.

Mokom was the alleged former national coordinator of operations of the anti-balaka, an alliance of Christian military groups in the Central African Republic that allegedly carried out reprisal attacks on Muslim civilians.

He was charged in 2018 for directing attacks against civilians, murder, rape, deportation and forcible transfer among other crimes, all considered war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.

The prosecutor in the case decided to withdraw the charges Oct. 16, concluding that "in light of changed circumstances regarding the availability of witnesses" there are no longer any reasonable prospects of conviction at trial "even if the charges were confirmed."

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim A. A. Khan said in a statement: "We must be unwavering in our commitment to only proceed with cases that present a realistic prospect of conviction. My office will spare no effort to ensure that the viability of cases is constantly and rigorously assessed against the available evidence at all stages of proceedings."

He added he was "very conscious that this news may be unwelcome to many survivors and their families." He said he hoped many would understand he has legal and ethical responsibilities to be guided by the law and evidence.

Khan said he's convinced the decision is the correct one in this case.

A civil war between Christians and Muslims erupted in the Central African Republic in 2012 and the U.N. posted more than 18,000 peacekeepers there in an effort to protect civilians.

The predominantly Christian CAR is a former French colony. The civil war caused the state to collapse amid savage massacres in the bloody conflict that threatened to escalate to genocide as hundreds of people were killed and 500,000 people were driven from their homes.

An armed alliance of mostly Muslim fighters called the Seleka seized portions of the CAR and staged a coup in 2013.

The anti-balaka, a coalition of Christian militia allegedly committed reprisal attacks on Muslims. Mokom is alleged to have been a national coordinator of the anti-balaka.

A peace deal facilitated by the African Union with support from the U.N. was reached between the government and 14 armed rebel groups in 2019.