France, April 10 -- The International Court of Justice has begun hearings into Sudan's allegations that the United Arab Emirates violated the Genocide Convention by supporting paramilitary forces accused of atrocities in Darfur.

At the opening session in The Hague on Thursday, Sudan urged the United Nations' top court to impose emergency orders - known as provisional measures - to stop the UAE from backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group that Sudan says is carrying out systematic killings of the Masalit ethnic group.

"The genocide against the Masalit is being carried out by the Rapid Support Force, predominantly Arab from Darfur, with the support and complicity of the United Arab Emirates," said Sudan's acting justi...