The International Criminal Court believes war crimes and crimes against humanity are continuing to take place in Sudan’s vast western Darfur region where civil war has raged for more than two years, the tribunal's deputy prosecutor said Thursday.

The UN Security Council gave the ICC a mandate to investigate and prosecute crimes in Darfur two decades ago, with the body opening multiple investigations into war crimes and genocide committed in the region from July 2002 onwards.

People are being deprived of water and food. Rape and sexual violence are being weaponized. Abductions for ransom and to bolster the ranks of armed groups have become common practice,” Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told the Security Council on Thursday.