Bahr Idriss Abu Garda (born 1 January 1963) is the leader of the United Resistance Front, a rebel group fighting against the

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

ese government in

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...

.Marlise Simons (18 May 2009).
Darfur Rebel Faces International Court in Hague
. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Accessed on 5 July 2009. He is a former commander of the

Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; ar, حركة العدل والمساواة, ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in Dec ...

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

(18 May 2009).
Darfur rebel appears before ICC
. Accessed on 5 July 2009.Trial Watch (2009).

. Accessed on 5 July 2009. Abu Garda was summonsed to appear before the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...

for alleged war crimes relating to a 2007 attack in which twelve African Union peacekeepers were killed. He is the first person ever to appear voluntarily before the ICC, and the first person to appear before the court in connection with the

war in Darfur The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups beg ...

. He denied the allegations against him: "I am looking forward to clear my name from this case because I am sure ... that absolutely I am not guilty".Mike Corder (18 May 2009).
Sudan rebel chief surrenders to war crime court
. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

. Accessed on 5 July 2009. The hearing to confirm the charges against him was held from 19–29 October 2009, ending in a decision by the judges not to confirm the charges and a rejection 23 April 2010 of an appeal by the Prosecutor.

Childhood

Abu Garda was born in Nana,

North Darfur North Darfur State ( ar, ولاية شمال دارفور Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and a ...

, and is a member of the

Zaghawa Zaghawa may refer to: * Zaghawa people * Zaghawa language Zaghawa is a Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of east-central Chad (in the Sahel) and northwestern Sudan (Darfur). The people who speak this language call it Beria, from ''B ...

tribe.International Criminal Court (16 June 2009). . Accessed on 22 April 2011.

Career in armed groups

From January 2005 to September 2007, he was vice-president of the

(JEM), an armed Islamist group which fought against the Sudanese government and pro-government militia groups in Darfur. He split with the JEM and on 4 October 2007 he participated in the formation of a new armed group called the JEM Collective Leadership.International Criminal Court (17 May 2009). . Accessed on 5 July 2009. , he is the leader of the United Resistance Front, another rebel group.

International Criminal Court prosecution

On 20 November 2008, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court,

Luis Moreno-Ocampo Luis Moreno OcampoMoreno Ocampo's surnames are often hyphenated in English-language media to mark Moreno as a surname, not a given name. (born 4 June 1952) is an Argentine lawyer who served as the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Co ...

, presented evidence alleging that Abu Garda and two other rebel commanders were guilty of war crimes in relation to a 2007 operation in which about a thousand rebels surrounded and attacked a camp of African Union peacekeepers in Haskanita, Darfur, killing twelve.International Criminal Court (10 December 2008).
Pre-Trial Chamber I requests additional information in relation to the application for a warrant of arrest for three rebel commanders in Darfur
. Accessed on 5 July 2009. On 7 May 2009, a Pre-Trial Chamber found that there were grounds to believe that Abu Garda was responsible on three counts of war crimes: murder, pillaging, and intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission.International Criminal Court (7 May 2009). . Accessed on 5 July 2009. The prosecutor submitted that an arrest warrant was unnecessary since Abu Garda had expressed his willingness to appear before the court, so the court issued a summons ordering him to appear before the court on 18 May 2009. Abu Garda flew to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

by commercial airliner on 17 May and became the first person ever to appear voluntarily before the ICC. Abu Garda denied all the charges against him and claimed to be the victim of a dispute between the URF and the JEM, which has said it helped to collect evidence against him. He said "I am looking forward to clear my name from this case because I am sure ... that absolutely I am not guilty". After his initial appearance before the court on 18 May 2009, he left the Netherlands to return to his soldiers.International Criminal Court (19 May 2009).
Confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda scheduled to start on Monday, 12 October 2009
. Accessed on 5 July 2009. The hearing to confirm the charges against him took place from 19–29 October 2009, and ended on 8 February and 23 April 2010 with the charges being dropped and the Prosecutor's appeal against this being rejected.

References

External links

— public court records relating to the ICC trial
Video footage of Abu Garda's initial appearance before the ICC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Garda, Bahr Idriss 1963 births Living people People of the War in Darfur People indicted by the International Criminal Court People indicted for war crimes People from North Darfur Sudanese military personnel