Hommam Al Nassim 
On Friday, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Iyad Ag Ghali, the leader of the Islamist “Ansar Dine” group, which took control of the city of Timbuktu in northern Mali in 2012.
The court accuses Ag Ghaly of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the period from January 2012 to January 2013. This arrest warrant was issued in 2017, but it was announced yesterday, Friday.
In the context of previous cases, the International Criminal Court charged other members of the Ansar Dine group with rape and sexual enslavement of women in Timbuktu.
The court stated that the fighters, linked to Al-Qaeda, used axes, shovels and hammers to destroy historical tombs and shrines that reflect the Sufi version of Islam in the city known as the “City of 333 Saints.”
In 2016, the International Criminal Court sentenced a member of the group to nine years in prison after he admitted to participating in the destruction of religious monuments in Timbuktu.
The International Criminal Court, the world’s only permanent court for war crimes, continues to look into the events that took place in Mali since 2012, and French and Malian forces were able to expel the rebels from the areas they controlled in 2013.
The International Criminal Court convicts a terrorist of war crimes charges in Mali