The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has decided to open an investigation into the situation in Darfur, Sudan, following the UN Security Council's referral of 51 names of people blamed for war crimes in the conflict in the region.

In a press release made available in New York on Monday, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that he concluded that the statutory requirements for initiating an investigation were satisfied after analyzing thousands of documents and interviewing over 50 independent experts.

He added that the investigation will be impartial and independent, and will focus on the individuals who bear the greatest responsibility for crimes committed in Darfur.

In February, a UN inquiry into whether genocide occurred in Darfur -- a region located on Sudan's western flank and about the size of France -- found the government responsible for crimes under international law and strongly recommended referring the dossier to the ICC.

The probe also found credible evidence that rebel forces were responsible for possible war crimes, including murder of civilians and pillage. The Security Council referred the matter to the ICC on March 31, 2005.

Moreno-Ocampo called on all partners to provide his office with the information, evidence and practical support needed to carry out his mandate.

"The investigation will require sustained cooperation from national and international authorities," Moreno-Ocampo said in the press release. "It will form part of a collective effort, complementing African Union and other initiatives to end the violence in Darfur and to promote justice."

Fighting in Darfur flared in early 2003 after rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government. The UN says some 180,000 people have died as a result of the conflict, while another 1.8 million have been forced from their homes, including about 200,000 who fled across the border to neighboring Chad.

But the Sudanese government disputed the death toll, saying they estimated only thousands of people have died in the conflict. Khartoum is also strongly opposed to the referral of suspects of war crimes in Darfur to the ICC and the country's courts have started to try some suspects.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2005)