
A former government minister from the Central African Republic denied involvement in crimes against humanity and war crimes for his alleged role in a deadly conflict in the impoverished nation when he appeared at a pretrial hearing at the International Criminal Court Tuesday.
Prosecutors accuse Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka of coordinating operations of the anti-Balaka, a mainly Christian group which fought against the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebel group. The fighting left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands in 2013 and 2014.