KHARTOUM (Reuters) – An International Criminal Court delegation is to visit Sudan to discuss the cases of ousted president Omar al-Bashir and other former officials, the government said on Saturday.
The delegation, led by prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, would discuss “cooperation” with Sudan over the wanted men, without naming them, according to the statement. It is the first visit by the court since Bashir was ousted last year.
Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum since he was toppled after mass protests last year, is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.
The Hague-based court issued arrest warrants for him in 2009 and 2010 accusing him of masterminding atrocities in his campaign to crush a revolt in Darfur region.
Sudan has also detained Ahmed Haroun and Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, two former officials who are wanted for crimes against humanity in a conflict in Darfur that has killed an estimated 300,000 people.
Bashir’s lawyer has repeatedly denounced the court charges against the former president as politically motivated.
There was no immediate comment from the court.
Sudan’s civilian government, which is running the country under a three-year transition with the military, has signed a peace agreement with former rebels in Darfur and other neglected regions which had been fighting Bashir’s government for years.
(Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Mike Harrison)
