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27 March 2009 TRIPOLI: Sudanese President Omar
Bashir defied an international arrest warrant by
traveling to Libya yesterday for talks with leader
Muammar Qaddafi, Libya’s government said.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the
warrant against Bashir this month, charging him with
war crimes in Darfur in western Sudan.
Experts say at least 200,000 people have been
killed and more than 2.7 million driven from their
homes in almost six years of ethnic and political
fighting in Darfur. Khartoum says 10,000 people have
died.
Qaddafi said last month that “foreign forces”
including Israel were stoking the Darfur conflict and
urged the ICC to stop proceedings against Bashir.
Bashir, flanked by a delegation including Sudan’s
foreign and industry ministers, met Qaddafi over lunch
and thanked the Libyan leader for his staunch support,
the official news agency JANA said.
The two leaders discussed ways to address the
humanitarian situation in Darfur and Sudan’s relations
with Chad. They agreed to focus on a “social solution”
for Darfur and work toward a free and fair referendum
for its population, JANA added.
ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said
Bashir’s trips to neighboring countries was a sign of
desperation. “It seems to me that Bashir’s trips are
nothing more than a sign of desperation rather than a
challenge to the ICC,” Moreno- Ocampo said.
Earlier, Sudan's president travelled to Eritrea in
his first trip abroad since an international court
issued an arrest warrant against him on charges of war
crimes in Darfur.
The Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera showed live
coverage of President Omar al-Bashir arriving at the
Asmara airport to an official reception on Monday.
The visit was previously unannounced, but the channel
said Eritrea had extended an invitation to al-Bashir
in mid-March.
On March 4, the Hague-based International Criminal
Court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir for his
role in atrocities committed in Sudan's Darfur region.
Under the charter of the ICC, members states are bound
to arrest those indicted when they enter their
territory. Eritrea is not a signatory.
Bashir warned not to attend summit. |
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