[JURIST] Deputy commander of the JEM-Bashar and International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] war crimes suspect, Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus [ICC case summary] has reportedly been killed in Northern Darfur. The group reported his death on Monday [Radio Drabanga report], which was later confirmed by his defense team [BBC report] on Wednesday. Jamus was charged in connection with an attack on African Union (AU) [official website] Peace Keepers in September 2007 at Haskanita [BBC backgrounder], which resulted in the death of 12 peacekeepers. He was charged with three war crimes: violence to life and attempted violence to life; intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units and vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission; and pillaging. His hearing was scheduled to begin in May.

Fighting in Sudan continues as the trials of leaders moves forward. The ICC ordered Jamus to stand trial [JURIST report] in March 2011. There has been significant attention paid to international intervention surrounding the human rights violations in the region since then. In December the ICC called upon [JURIST report] the UN to do more in Darfur. In October a UN rights office urged [JURIST report] Sudan to investigate an ambush on a UN convoy. That same office asked [JURIST report] Sudan to investigate violence against peaceful protesters in the region.