Sudanese troops massing near border, Says South Sudan Officials [and] ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Sudan Defense Minister
Separately, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s defense minister, the third senior government official sought by the court over alleged involvement in atrocities in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
The court said it wants Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein arrested on a warrant containing seven counts of crimes against humanity and six war crimes, including murder, persecution, rape and torture. The charges cover 41 incidents, the court said.
Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked judges for the warrant in December, saying Hussein is among those who “bear greatest criminal responsibility” for atrocities in Darfur from August 2003 to March 2004.
Sudan does not recognize the court and refuses to hand over suspects, including President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide in Darfur. His government in Khartoum had denounced Moreno-Ocampo’s request for a warrant for Hussein.
At the time covered by the charges, Hussein was interior minister and the Sudanese government’s special representative in Darfur. He is accused of overseeing a state-sponsored plan to attack villages in western Darfur.
Sudan’s government is accused of unleashing Arab militias on civilians — a charge the government denies. The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been displaced in the conflict.
ICC issues Sudan defence minister warrant over Darfur
Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein also served as Sudan’s interior ministerThe court said there were sufficient grounds to hold him responsible for 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 21 counts of war crimes.
In December, a senior Sudanese official dismissed the request for the warrant as “ridiculous”.
The Hague-based ICC has already indicted Sudan’s president.
Omar al-Bashir denies the charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war rimes in Darfur, saying they are politically motivated.
The UN estimates that more than 300,000 people have died in Darfur, mostly from disease, since rebels took up arms in 2003.
The government in Khartoum puts the figure at about 12,000 deaths, and says the number of casualties has been exaggerated.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the judges for the warrant in December, saying Mr Hussein was among those who bore the “greatest criminal responsibility” for atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region from August 2003 to March 2004.
The mainly Arab Janjaweed militia is accused of carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide against Darfur’s black African population after rebels took up arms in 2003, accusing the government of ignoring the region.
According to the ICC, attacks followed a pattern, with Sudan’s military surrounding a village, the air force bombing it and then soldiers and Janjaweed fighters going in on foot, killing, raping and looting.
The ICC said in a statement that Mr Hussein should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, including persecution and torture, and war crimes including murder and rape.
The court said the crimes were allegedly committed against the Fur population in the towns of Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar and Arawala by the Sudanese armed forces and Janjaweed militia during a counter-insurgency campaign against Darfuri rebels.
“The plan of the counter-insurgency campaign was allegedly formulated at the highest levels of the government of the Republic of the Sudan and had allegedly as a core component an unlawful attack on that part of the civilian population perceived by the government as being close to the rebel groups,” it said.
At the time, Mr Hussein was both Sudan’s interior minister and its representative in Darfur.
Together with President Bashir, the court has also indicted another former Interior Minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a suspected leader of the Janjaweed militia, over alleged atrocities in Darfur.
The ICC says that Mr Harun reported directly to Mr Hussein. They all deny the charges and refuse to surrender.
The Hague-based court has also indicted two Darfur rebels, who are accused of attacking African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. The suspects surrendered to the court in 2010.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17226952
Sudanese Defense Minister Issued Arrest Warrant For Crimes Against Humanity
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