Banjul 26 Oct (ANA) - The Gambia says it will pull of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after accusing the tribunal of persecuting and humiliating Africans.

The small West African nation joins South Africa and Burundi in withdrawing from the court. The ICC was set up to try the world's worst crimes but has been accused of unfairly targeting African leaders. Gambian Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said the court had ignored Western war crimes. He said the ICC, for example, had failed to indict former British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the Iraq war. Speaking on state television, he said the ICC was "an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans". The ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is a former Gambian justice minister.(ANA)

FA/ANA/26 October 2016------