Darfur Crime Charges Sought Against Sudanese President

clipped from www.un.org Three years after the United Nations Security Council requested him to investigate atrocities committed in Darfur, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court today presented evidence against Sudan’s President for alleged war crimes in the strife-torn region, including genocide. ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is seeking an arrest warrant for President Omar Al-Bashir, who he believes “bears criminal responsibility in relation to 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,” according to a news release issued by the Court. “His motives were largely political. His alibi was a ‘counterinsurgency.’ His intent was genocide,” Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said.

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Mr. Moreno-Ocampo says that for over five years, armed forces and the Janjaweed attacked and destroyed villages on Mr. Al-Bashir’s orders. They also uprooted millions of civilians from their lands, killed the men and raped the women. “I don’t have the luxury to look away. I have evidence,” the Prosecutor said.