A ferocious rebel leader in the Central African Republic, Noureddine Adam, has been declared wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an international arrest warrant on him.
The international warrant which was previously sealed and dated back to January 2019, was opened on Tuesday and states that Adam is wanted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including torture and murder.
According to the ICC, Adam’s warrant is consistent with the body “seeking to target the highest-ranking rebel leaders responsible for atrocities in the Central African Republic.
Adam who was the number two leader of Seleka, a deadly rebel group in the country which became ferocious in 2013, is reputed to have caused the deaths of over 100,000 people.
The Seleka rebel group was one of the first of several militant groups to emerge in the Central African Republic and was accused of sundry crimes against humanity including murder, torture and rape.
Another Seleka commander, Mahamat Said Abdel Kan, is also facing charges at the ICC with his trial scheduled to begin in September.
But the ICC noted that Said did not have the same level of command that Adam held during the Seleka’s reign of terror.
As the leader of the group, Adam was one of the first militant leaders to arrive in the capital, Bangui, when the rebels took the city, and became the Minister of Public Security, and later National Security Advisor.
In 2014, he fled Bangui with the rest of the Seleka, and has since moved between Sudan, Chad, and the Central African Republic.
After he fled Bangui, Adam reportedly took command of other armed groups, emerging as a prime example of how abusive leaders who enjoy impunity continue to commit crimes and is reported to be hiding in Sudan.