Region | Sudan
Hague court issues international arrest warrant for Al Bashir
The Hague on Wednesday issued an international warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity in Darfur.
- Agencies
- Published: 15:05 March 4, 2009
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
- Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir has been accused of masterminding genocide in Darfur.
The Hague: The International Criminal Court on Wednesday issued an international warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Dozens of witnesses testified that Al Bashir controlled a genocidal campaign aimed at wiping out three ethnic African tribes in the vast nation south of Egypt.
"We have strong evidence against Mr. Bashir," he said. "More than 30 different witnesses will present how he managed to control everything. We have strong evidence of his intention."
The arrest wwarrant is a milestone for the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, which started work in 2002 and has never before ordered the arrest of a sitting head of state.
In a show of defiance on Tuesday, the Sudanese leader danced for cheering supporters at a rally in northern Sudan where an effigy of Moreno Ocampo was gleefully torched.
Bashir dismisses the allegations as part of a Western conspiracy.
China, the African Union and the Arab League all suggest the idictment would further destabilise the region, worsen the Darfur conflict and threaten a troubled peace deal between north Sudan and the semi-autonomous south.
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