Damascus (TDI): The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan made an unannounced visit to Syria to confer with the leader of de facto government on how to ensure accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country.
Khan’s office said he visited at the invitation of Syria’s transitional government.
The chief prosecutor met with Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria’s new administration who was formerly known as Mohammad Al-Golani, and the foreign minister to discuss options for justice in The Hague for victims of the country’s civil war, which has left more than half a million dead and more than 6 million people displaced.
Al-Sharaa is a former Al-Qaeda militant who severed ties with the extremist organization years ago and leads Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the group leading the new authority in Syria.
The former insurgent group, declared a terrorist group by the US, led the lightning offensive that toppled longtime dictator Bashar Assad and is now the de facto ruling party in the country.
Also Read: Pakistan Urges Israel to Exit Lebanese, Syrian Buffer Zones
Assad, who fled to Russia in December, waged a tyrannical campaign against anyone who opposed him during his more than two decades in power.
Rights groups estimate at least 150,000 people went missing after anti-government demonstrations started in 2011, most vanishing into Assad’s prison network.
Many of them were killed, either in mass executions or from torture and jail conditions. The exact number is unclear.
The international chemical weapons watchdog found Syrian troops were responsible for multiple attacks using chlorine gas and other banned substances against civilians.
Other groups have also been accused of human rights violations and war crimes during Syria’s civil war.
Pledge for Justice
The new authorities have vowed that members of the Assad regime would be brought to justice.
Syria is not a member of the ICC, which has left the court without the ability to probe the war.
Khan’s visit comes after a trip to Damascus in December by the UN organization assisting in probing the most serious crimes in Syria.
Also Read: Syria Can Transition Through National Dialogue: UN
The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria was created to help in evidence-gathering and prosecution of people responsible for possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide since Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011.
