War crimes arrest warrant for Sudan president

An international arrest warrant was issued today for Sudan's president on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. But Omar al-Bashir denies the charges. Thousands of protestors took to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, after the announcement, amid fears of unrest.

Some 300,000 people have died and millions been displaced in six years of conflict in Darfur, according to United Nations estimates. But the International Criminal Court (ICC) stopped short of accusing him of genocide. Still, it was a bold move by the court, and the first time since the court for prosecuting war crimes was founded in 2002, that it has ordered the arrest of a sitting head of state. The prosecutor had asked for arrest warrants on 10 charges, including genocide, murder, torture, extermination and rape, The Times newspaper reported. In all, the judges issued a warrant to day on seven counts: five of crimes against humanity - murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape; two of war crimes - intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population or individual civilians, and pillaging. "He is suspected of being criminally responsible...for intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians and pillaging their property," said Laurence Blairon, the court spokeswoman. She said his position as head of state gave him no immunity from the charges and that the violence in Darfur was the result of a common plan organised at the highest level of the Sudanese government, but there was no evidence of genocide.

But speaking on Tuesday ahead of the expected announcement, Mr Bashir said the arrest warrant. would "not be worth the ink it is written on.” Sudan expert Alex de Waal told the BBC the indictment is "pretty toothless" as the ICC does not have a police force and the warrant will be delivered to Sudan's government, which is unlikely to execute it. There is heavy security in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and large pro-Bashir demonstrations are expected. The ICC warrant ranks al-Bashir alongside former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor, the other heads of state indicted for war crimes while in office by international tribunals. Both were eventually forced from power and ended up on trial in The Hague, where Taylor is preparing his defence case and Milosevic died of a heart attack in 2006 before the process concluded.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children