International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced Monday that she has requested an investigation into the killings carried out in the Philippines as part of the Philippine government's "war on drugs" between 2016 and 2019.

"Today I announce the completion of the preliminary examination of the situation in the Republic of the Philippines, at the end of which I asked the judges of the court to give permission to open an investigation," Bensouda said in a statement.

She explained that the judges of the court will investigate accusations that "employees of the Philippine National Police and other persons working in coordination with them, unlawfully killed thousands or tens of thousands of civilians."

These acts of violence have been the subject of preliminary examination, a preceding stage of the investigation, since February 8, 2018, which prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to withdraw from the ICC in 2019.

Despite this withdrawal, which entered into force on March 17, 2019, Bensouda emphasized that the court continues to exercise its jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Philippines in the context of the anti-drug campaign.

"Responsibility for investigating the situation in the Philippines, if allowed, will rest with my successor," the attorney general, whose term officially ends on Tuesday and will be replaced by Britain's Karim Khan, said.