Prosecutor charges Sudan president with genocide

[July 14, 2008]  THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- The International Criminal Court's prosecutor has filed genocide charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

The charges filed Monday include masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in Darfur with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is asking a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir to prevent the deaths of those still under attack in Darfur from government-backed janjaweed militia. He says the genocide is continuing and must be stopped.

Moreno-Ocampo is undeterred by concern that his indictment might make conditions worse for the refugees and close Sudan's doors to relief agencies and peacekeeping troops.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- An International Criminal Court prosecutor is expected to seek an arrest warrant charging Sudan's president with genocide and crimes against humanity on Monday when he reveals details of his investigation into war crimes in Darfur.

In an indication of the fury that could be unleashed if Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir is charged with orchestrating a five-year reign of terror in Darfur, his ruling National Congress Party on Sunday warned of "more violence and blood" in the vast western region if an arrest warrant is issued against him, state TV reported.

The prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina, has indicated he is aiming for the top leadership of the Sudanese government, accusing them of sponsoring the janjaweed militias blamed for most atrocities in Darfur.

Up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million have been displaced since the conflict began in early 2003.

Moreno-Ocampo has said only that he will present his evidence to judges on Monday. A three-judge panel at the Hague-based court will then study it before deciding whether to issue an arrest warrant.

Al-Bashir huddled with Cabinet ministers and advisers Sunday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, weighing their response to any charges. Sudan has also asked the Arab League for an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers.

Outside the meeting, hundreds of Sudanese demonstrated in support of al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 coup. Others held signs ridiculing the ICC and Moreno-Ocampo. "Ocampo is a plotter against Sudan's people," one banner read.

There are also fears that the fresh Darfur case could spark a backlash against the 9,000-strong U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. It was the U.N. Security Council that in March 2005 asked Moreno-Ocampo to investigate crimes in Darfur.

A spokeswoman for the force said it had restricted "a limited number of operations that carry security risk to civilian staff" but not military operations.

"All essential peacekeeping operations are being carried-out by troops," Shereen Zorba told The Associated Press in an e-mail from Khartoum.

The court, which started work six years ago, has never issued charges against a sitting head of state. Other international courts indicted Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic and Charles Taylor of Liberia while they were in office.

Whoever Moreno-Ocampo names as a suspect on Monday is unlikely to be sent to The Hague any time soon.

Sudan rejects the court's jurisdiction and refuses to arrest suspects. In a case announced last year, Moreno-Ocampo charged government minister Ahem Muhammad Harun and Ail Cushy, a commander of the government-backed janjaweed militia, with 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape and forced expulsions.

Despite the charges, Harun is still the minister in charge of humanitarian aid in Darfur and Moreno-Ocampo says the government's refusal to arrest him indicates its complicity in attacks on some of the 2.5 million civilians that are believed to have been forced out of their homes and into camps.

[Associated Press; By BEN WALKER]

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