International Criminal Court unveils arrest warrant for Central Africa militia leader

THE HAGUE - The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday unveiled an arrest warrant against a suspected leader of a militia that attacked Muslim civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2014.

According to the warrant, made public on Thursday but issued in 2018, Edmond Beina is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity including mass killings, murder, rape and persecution.

Prosecutors say he led a group of several hundred armed men who attacked a village in the west of the country in 2014 and killed at least 22 Muslim civilians and drove out hundreds more.

CAR has been mired in violence since a coalition of mostly northern and predominantly Muslim rebels known as Seleka, or "Alliance" in the Sango language, seized power in March 2013. Their dominance gave rise to opposing "anti-balaka" Christian militias.

The ICC has been investigating the violence in CAR since May 2014. Two trials are before the court involving two other anti-balaka leaders and one Seleka leader.