Sudan to hand ex-President Omar Al Bashir, other wanted officials to ICC- Foreign Minister says
By Bosco Marita, August 11, 2021
Former President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir, along with other wanted officials are set to be handed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the Darfur conflict, Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi said on Wednesday, August 11.
Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades before being ousted in 2019 after a series of protests, faces charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
“The cabinet decided to hand over wanted officials to the ICC,” Mahdi said as quoted by the state media.
A warrant of arrest was issued against the 77-year-old former president in 2009 but he has never been put in custody since then.
The development follows a visit by ICC Chief prosecutor Karim Khan who is currently on a visit to Sudan.
According to data by United Nations, 300,000 people were killed during the 2003 Darfur conflict with 2,5 million others displaced.
The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the conflict, which erupted in the vast western region in 2003.
Human rights groups fingered Bashir and his former aides of using a scorched earth policy, raping, killing, looting and burning villages during the conflict.