Sudan has opened an investigation into crimes committed in the Darfur region by members of the regime of ousted former president Omar al-Bashir, state prosecutor Tagelsir al-Heber said Sunday.
"We have launched a probe into the crimes committed in Darfur from 2003," Agence France Presse quoted Heber as saying.
He added that these were "cases against former regime officials" tied to Bashir, who is sought by the International Criminal Court for his role in the Darfur conflict.
The conflict between pro-government forces and ethnic minority rebels left around 300,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced, according to the United Nations.
Warrants for Bashir’s arrest were issued by the ICC in 2009 and 2010 on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity but Bashir has not been extradited to The Hague, the seat of the ICC.
Sudan's new transitional government, brought to power after the protest movement toppled Bashir, has vowed to establish peace in conflict-hit regions, including Darfur.
On December 14, Bashir was sentenced by a court in Khartoum to two years' detention in a correctional center for corruption in the first of several cases against him.
Bashir is also being investigated for his role in the 1989 coup that brought him to power.
On November 12, Sudanese authorities filed charges against him and some of his aides for "plotting" the coup.
In May, the state prosecutor said Bashir had been charged with the deaths of those killed during the anti-regime demonstrations that led to his ouster, without specifying when he would face trial.
