Sudan Rallies Behind Leader, Despite Darfur

After getting the boot in March, NGOs to return to troubled region

(NEWSER) - The Sudanese government says it will invite new aid groups to work in Darfur and let the UN and other agencies expand their operations in the region. The announcement comes two months after Sudan expelled 13 NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders, in the aftermath of the International Criminal Court's indictment of President Omar al-Bashir. The UN's humanitarian chief said he would have preferred if Sudan had reversed the earlier expulsions but was encouraged by the "welcome degree of flexibility." More»

(NEWSER) - The International Criminal Court today issued a warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, charging him with murder, extermination, and rape, among other war crimes and crimes against humanity, the New York Times reports. Prosecutors say orders to kill or displace tribal people in Sudan’s Darfur region, which resulted in 5 years of violence and countless deaths, came from Bashir. More»

Jolie writes for Time magazine

(NEWSER) - Angelina Jolie argues in a Time essay that it's put-up-or-shut-up time for the UN on Darfur. The Security Council will receive a report today on the nation's genocide under the watch of Omar al Bashir, and its response will determine whether the idea of an "international standard of justice" is real or just talk. "The evidence the prosecutor has presented is clear and compelling," she writes. "Millions of people have been displaced; hundreds of thousands have been killed." More»

Says media claims are part of propaganda campaign

(NEWSER) - Sudan’s president says his military hasn’t attacked civilians in Darfur and challenges “anybody” to show evidence to the contrary. “What has been reported to have happened in Darfur did not actually happen at all,” Omar al Bashir told the BBC in his first interview since being charged with war crimes. “What happened in Darfur was an insurgency. The state has the responsibility to fight the rebels.” More»

Al-Bashir's Saudi trip seen as effort to undermine support for international justice

(NEWSER) - Sudan's president thumbed his nose at the International Criminal Court with a high-profile pilgrimage to Mecca yesterday, reports the Times of London. A ruling last month requires the court's 108 members to arrest Omar al-Bashir for crimes against humanity in Darfur if he enters their nations. Many see his trips to non-members like Saudi Arabia as an effort to undercut the court's authority and turn Arab and African nations against it. More»