Ocampo declined to draw any conclusions pending the completion of a "full and impartial investigation."

UNITED NATIONS — The International Criminal Court (ICJ) has documented thousands of alleged direct killings of civilians by parties to the conflict in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region as well as hundreds of rape cases, adding a full, neutral investigation was still needed.

ICJ chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the UN Security Council on Wednesday, June 14, this includes "a significant number of large-scale massacres, with hundreds of victims in each incident."

He added that his office was investigating allegations that some of the groups implicated in the Darfur crimes "did so with specific genocidal intent."

The report, covering the October 2002-May 2006 period, cited a "significant amount of information indicating that thousands of civilians have died since 2003" as a result of lack of shelter and basic necessities for survival after their homes and food stocks were destroyed and their property looted.

Splinter wings of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signed a peace deal late Thursday, June 8, weeks after it had been agreed by the major warring parties.

The peace deal with Khartoum, brokered by the Africa Union, aims to end a three-year conflict.

The conflict in the troubled western region, an arid region the size of France, flared up in February 2003 when rebels from black African tribes took up arms, complaining of discrimination and oppression by the Khartoum government.

The government is accused of unleashing Arab tribal militia known as the Janjaweed against civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson.

No Conclusions

The report said thousands of civilians have died as a result of lack of shelter and basic necessities for survival. (Reuters)

The ICJ chief prosecutor said interviews of victims and witnesses reported that men perceived to be from the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups were "deliberately targeted."

Evidence cited eyewitness accounts that "the perpetrators made statements reinforcing the targeted nature of the attacks, such as 'we will kill all the blacks' and 'we will drive you out of this land'."

Ocampo's office also recorded "hundreds of alleged cases of rape", which the report said was indicative of an endemic practice among some groups involved in the conflict.

"Destruction of property and looting is a prevalent feature of the crimes in Darfur, with reports of destruction and looting in up to 2,000 villages throughout the three Darfur states," it said.

The ICJ chief prosecutor asserted that identifying those with the greatest responsibility for the most serious crimes in Darfur was a key challenge for his probe.

He, however, declined to draw any conclusions pending the completion of a "full and impartial investigation."

Ocampo said the ICC would need the "full support of the Security Council and the unfettered cooperation of the international community, in particular the government of Sudan."

Sudan's UN envoy Omar Manis said his government had set up a special criminal court to deal with the Darfur crimes.

The ICC, based in The Hague, is mandated to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

It can also try crimes of aggression although member states have not yet agreed on the legal definition for such crimes.