[JURIST] Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] on Thursday formally asked ICC judges to issue arrest warrants [ICC press release] for the leaders of rebel groups in Sudan's Darfur region [JURIST news archive]. Ocampo had said last Friday at a meeting of states party to the ICC treaty [press release; JURIST report] that he would seek the warrants. The arrest warrants sought [AP report] relate to a deadly September 2007 attack [BBC report] by anti-government rebels in Darfur against African Union (AU) [official website] peacekeeping troops. Speaking of the rebels, Ocampo told the ICC judges:

They planned, led their troops and directed the attack which killed 12 peacekeepers, severely wounded 8 others, and completely destroyed AMIS facilities and property, directly affecting aid and security for millions of people of Darfur who are in need of protection.