The International Criminal Court’s Karim Khan made an unannounced visit to Damascus for talks on “responsibility for alleged crimes”.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) made an unannounced visit to Syria, meeting with Syria’s new de facto government leader Ahmed Salad to discuss how to ensure prosecution for alleged crimes committed in the country Conduct accountability.

Prosecutor Karim Khan met with Sala and Syria’s foreign minister on Friday to discuss options for the International Criminal Court to bring justice to victims of the country’s 13-year war.

A statement from Khan’s office said he traveled to Damascus “at the invitation of Syria’s transitional government.”

The purpose of the visit is to discuss how the office can “provide partnerships to support Syrian authorities in pursuing accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country,” the statement said.

With 125 member states, the International Criminal Court is the world’s permanent court for prosecuting individuals guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes of aggression.

Opposition fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has become the country’s de facto ruling party, launched a lightning offensive last month that ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad fled to Russia in December and has launched a crackdown on the opposition during his more than two decades in power.

Human rights groups estimate tens of thousands of people disappeared after anti-government protests began in 2011, many of them disappearing into Assad’s prison network. Many of them were probably killed in mass executions or as a result of torture and prison conditions. The exact number remains unknown.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the global chemical weapons watchdog, has found that Syrian forces were responsible for multiple attacks using chlorine and other banned substances against civilians.

Other groups have also been accused of human rights abuses and war crimes during the country’s war.

The new authorities have called for members of Assad’s regime to be brought to justice. It’s unclear at this stage exactly how this will work.

Syria is not a member of the International Criminal Court, so the court does not have the ability to investigate the war. In 2014, Russia and China blocked a UN Security Council request to refer the court to jurisdiction. Sudan and Libya have made similar proposals.

Khan’s visit follows a visit by the United Nations organization to Damascus last month to help investigate Syria’s most serious crimes.

The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria was established to assist in gathering evidence and prosecuting individuals who may have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide since the start of the war in Syria in 2011.

More than 500,000 people have been killed in the war and more than 6 million have fled the country.