Sudan Rallies Behind Leader, Despite Darfur

Omar al-Bashir is reviled across the world for presiding over the mass murder of his own people in Darfur, and now the Sudanese president has been accused of genocide by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. But within Sudan his rule has become more secure than ever, as opponent after opponent has rallied behind him. The New York Times reports on a political transformation in Khartoum.

Many of Bashir's political enemies worry that the country could collapse into Somalia-style anarchy if the president were ousted. Without Bashir, the peace treaty that ended decades of civil war between north and south—and that killed 2.2 million people—could be imperiled. "A lot of the political entities looked into the abyss and were scared," said a top Western diplomat.