* Prosecutor says AU peacekeepers were "executed" * Attack was launched to gain equipment, recognition * Abu Garda denies charges, appears voluntarily (Rewrites, adding Abu Garda, Sudan foreign ministry comments) By Aaron Gray-Block THE HAGUE, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A Sudanese rebel leader told the International Criminal Court on Monday he had nothing to do with the execution-style killing of 12 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. Bahr Idris Abu Garda is the first Sudanese rebel to appear before the court in The Hague. He voluntarily attended a hearing to determine if he should face trial on three war crimes charges over the attack on an AU peacekeeping base in September 2007. Deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the peacekeepers were sent to protect civilians from killings and rapes, but were murdered by combined rebel forces under Abu Garda's control. She said they were not killed accidentally or in crossfire. "Most of them were shot at close range. They were executed," Bensouda told the three-judge chamber. Abu Garda, 46, chairman of the United Resistance Front, told the court: "I have no relation to that incident, the planning for that attack or the preparing for the attack." The AU peacekeepers, now a joint AU-U.N. force, have been unable to end fighting in Sudan's Darfur region between government and rebel troops since hostilities erupted in 2003. The U.N. says up to 300,000 people have been killed, but Khartoum puts the toll at 9,000. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was indicted by the ICC in March for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He has denied all charges. Sudan in principle rejects the presence of any Sudanese national in front of the ICC, but Abu Garda -- addressing the court in his non-native English -- urged all those suspected by the ICC of crimes in Sudan to face justice. Sudan foreign ministry spokesman Maowia Osman said the ICC was not a judicial institution but a political one, so whether Abu Garda or anybody else appeared in front of the court would not change the position of the government. DENIAL OF GUILT Abu Garda, married with five children, denied involvement in the attack at Haskanita despite acknowledging he was in the area at the time. He offered his condolences to the victims and said he hoped the real culprits would be brought to justice. Brahima Kone, one of four legal representatives addressing the court on behalf of 78 victims, said one seriously injured victim was the sole provider for 23 people who lost their household goods after the attack and wanted reparations. Prosecutor Bensouda said about 1,000 rebels stormed the peacekeeping camp in 30 vehicles in the early evening using machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. The attack continued into the early morning. She added that Abu Garda's forces had just split from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement. They wanted equipment, recognition as a rebel force and an invitation to attend peace talks planned in Libya. Bensouda said peacekeepers must not be protected by weapons and armour alone, but also by the power of international law. A witness will tell the court the attack had a "devastating" impact on peacekeeping operations in other nations. Abu Garda is not in custody. He will only be detained if the court decides there is enough evidence for a trial and if it fears he will not appear for it. The court will have 60 days from the end of the hearing on Oct. 29 to hand down a ruling.
A Palestinian girl sleeps in front of a house, destroyed during the three-week offensive Israel launched last December, in the northern Gaza Strip October 16, 2009. The U.N. Human Rights Council ...
