War crimes charges in S. Leone

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (Reuters) -- A United Nations special court for war crimes in Sierra Leone said Monday it had approved indictments against seven people, including the West African country's interior minister and a veteran rebel leader.

In a statement the court's prosecutor said the seven were indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law committed during Sierra Leone's decade-long conflict, one of Africa's most brutal wars.

It said the alleged crimes included murder, rape, extermination, acts of terror, sexual slavery, conscription of children into an armed force and attacks on U.N. peacekeepers.

Among those indicted were Internal Affairs Minister Sam Hinga Norman, Foday Sankoh, the jailed leader of the rebel Revolutionary United Front, rebel commanders Issa Sesay and Sam Bockarie, and former junta leader Johnny Paul Koroma.

The statement said five of those indicted, including Hinga Norman, were currently in custody.

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