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African Union Mums On President Al-Bashir ICC Arrest Ruling
14 June 2009
Addis Ababa - An African Union (AU) panel led by South Africa's former President Thabo Mbeki said it had not taken a stance on an international court's indictment of Sudanese officials including President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Fighting between the government, its allies and a myriad of rebel groups in Sudan's western region has claimed as many as 300 000 people, according to the United Nations, but Khartoum says only 10 000 have died since clashes broke out in 2003. "The panel has not taken a position whether or not the intervention of the (International Criminal Court) in Sudan or the arrest warrants the court has issued are appropriate," it said in a statement.
The ICC has indicted Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and torture. He has dismissed the allegations as part of a Western conspiracy, and the AU has sought a deferment of the indictment, saying it has complicated peace efforts in Darfur. An AU summit in Libya last week voted to suspend cooperation with ICC in the matter. Mbeki told reporters on Friday that his panel of eight eminent Africans had consulted widely inside and outside Sudan. "The consensus reached is that those charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity should appear in court and defend themselves," he said. "The warrant has been issued. There is nothing that can be done."
Al-Bashir in Egypt for Darfur talks
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak about recent Egyptian efforts to strike a peace deal in Darfur. Al-Bashir is also set to brief Mubarak on Sudan's efforts to implement a 2005 comprehensive peace agreement in southern Sudan, Sudan's ambassador to Egypt and permanent representative to the Arab League, Abdel-Moneim Mabrouk, told reporters. Renewed fighting between the tribes of southern Sudan has left more than 1 000 people dead since the beginning of the year. David Gressly, the head of the United Nations' mission to southern Sudan, last week expressed concern about the violence, but stressed that progress had been made.
"The continuing violence in some parts of the region is a direct consequence of two civil wars, a very high level of armament among the civilian population and continued frictions between neighboring communities over vital resources like water and pasturage," he told reporters on July 8. Mubarak and al-Bashir are also expected to discuss preparations for Sudanese presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for January 2010, and developments in the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for al-Bashir, Mabrouk said. Egypt, a close ally of the Sudanese government in Khartoum, hosted delegates of several Sudanese rebel groups, including the Sudan Liberation Army and the United Resistance Front, on Saturday. Al-Bashir is scheduled to stay in Egypt through the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, scheduled to take place Wednesday and Thursday in the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, Mabrouk said. - Sapa-dpa
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