Sudan's military junta accused of not cooperating with International Criminal Court

By Buhram Abdel-Men'em

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Eleven ambassadors and heads of western missions in Sudan blamed the ruling military authorities on Thursday for not cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) since taking power in October last year over presenting leaders accused of genocide and war crimes in Darfur almost two decades ago.

"The former Transitional Government worked closely with the ICC. We note the backwards steps in such cooperation since the military takeover of 25 October 2021," said a statement signed by 11 embassies in Khartoum, including the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, and others.

Darfur was the scene of a ferocious war between the Sudanese government and three rebel movements in 2003. The fighting killed about 300,000 people and displaced around 2.5 million others, according to UN figures.

On Saturday, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan arrived in Sudan to meet with government officials in order to request their cooperation in bringing the wanted people to the court for crimes committed in Darfur almost two decades ago.

The ICC charged a number of former Sudanese officials with genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in connection with the Darfur situation, including former President Omar al-Bashir, former Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Mohamed Hussein, former head of the Bashir-era ruling party Ahmed Haroun, and Abdulla Banda, a rebel leader whose whereabouts are unknown.

"We echo Prosecutor Khan's request that the Sudanese authorities provide unimpeded access to witnesses the Court has identified, as well as to documentation that the Court has requested," the statement added.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar