UK police arrest man over alleged war crimes in Liberia

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Metropolitan Police said Wednesday officers have arrested a man over alleged war crimes committed in the Liberian civil war in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The man, who is in his 40s, was held in the city of Newcastle in northeast England on suspicion of offenses against the International Criminal Court Act.

He was arrested as part of an investigation supported by counter terrorism police officers. Police did not provide further details. Suspects in the U.K. are not named until they are charged.

The arrest follows a referral last year to the Metropolitan Police force’s war crimes team.

The team has responsibility for investigating and bringing to justice anyone who may fall under the U.K.’s jurisdiction and who is suspected of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or torture anywhere in the world.