HAGUE: International war crimes judges ruled Thursday that a probe into wartime abuses in Afghanistan must go ahead, including looking into possible atrocities committed by US forces, as they overturned a previous court ruling.

Pre-trial judges at the Hague-based International Criminal Court last year rejected a demand by its chief prosecutor to open a full-blown probe into crimes committed in the war-torn nation — an investigation also bitterly opposed by Washington.

Prosecutors appealed the move, saying that the judges made an error when they slapped down Fatou Bensouda’s request by saying although it met all the right criteria and a reasonable basis, it was “not in the interest of justice.” The appeals judges agreed with the prosecution. “The prosecutor is authorised to commence an investigation into alleged crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan since May 1, 2003,” ICC judge Piotr Hofmanski said. “It is for the prosecutor to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to initiate an investigation,” under the court’s statutes, Judge Hofmanski said. Pre-trial judges are only called upon to see if there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation not to “review the Prosecutor’s analysis,” he said.

In 2006, the ICC’s prosecutors opened a preliminary probe into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the central Asian nation since 2003. In 2017 Bensouda asked judges to allow a full-blown inquiry, not only into Taliban and Afghan government personnel but also international forces, US troops and members of the Central Intelligence Agency. But pre-trial judges then said it “would not serve the interests of justice” and that the court should focus on cases with a better chance of success.