Atrocities have continued on both sides of the conflict throughout this war. Military threats of intervention have not caused any reduction in hostilities – they just ramped up tension. There is a very real prospect that an ICC intervention could just fan the flames of the existing warfare; UN weapons inspectors being in the country did not deter the use of chemical weapons, they were used only a few miles from where the inspectors were staying.  Also, the ICC has not been a useful deterrent in other situations, such as Darfur, which while referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council is still an ongoing conflict. [1] One of the few academic studies done on the issue suggests ICC involvement simply damages the prospects of peace by ensuring that an actor who may have been willing at some point to negotiate has to fight on. [2] Combatants are already fearing death – would the prospect of spending 30 years in a European prison cell really add too much of a deterrent?  [1] Kristof, Nicholas D., ‘Darfur in 2013 Sounds Awfully Familiar’, The New York Times, 20 July 2013,   [2] Ku, Julian, and Nzelibe, Jide, ‘Do International Criminal Tribunals Deter or Exacerbate Humanitarian Atrocities?;, Washington University Law Review, Vol.84, No.4, 2006, pp.777-833,  pp.181, 832