Sudan to surrender al-Bashir to the ICC

Former President Omar al-Bashir will be handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face war crimes charges, the Sudanese Government announced yesterday, according to a CNN report. Ousted in April 2019 after months of nationwide protests, al-Bashir faces five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes at the ICC in The Hague. The crimes were allegedly committed during Sudan's military campaign in Darfur between 2003 and 2008. A member of Sudan's ruling sovereign council said all suspects wanted by the ICC would be sent there. The move is part of a proposed agreement between the Sudanese Government and Darfur's rebel movement. No timeline has been set. ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said 'we are following the news in relation to Mr al-Bashir ...we have no official confirmation on our side at this moment'. A member of Sudan's ruling sovereign council, Mohammed al-Ta'ashy, said 'we cannot achieve justice unless we heal wounds with justice'. The ICC issued arrest warrants for al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010.

Sudan's top military general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in December suggested that the move was on the cards. However, BBC News reports there is no guarantee that it will happen because the generals may renege on the deal. And if it does happen, it is unlikely to be anytime soon, as talks to end the conflict still have a long way to go and the transfer of the wanted men – from both sides of the conflict – would have to be part of a broader peace deal. Meanwhile, al-Bashir has refused to recognise the authority of the court. On Tuesday, one of his lawyers described it as a 'political court'. In December, he was sentenced to two years in a social reform facility for corruption. Prosecutors in Sudan have also charged him with the killing of protesters during the demonstrations that led to him being ousted.

For years the Sudanese leader had proven himself to be a political survivor, evading not only the ICC but also myriad domestic challenges. Despite the ICC indictments, he had regularly travelled within Africa and further afield to countries including Russia and China. A report on the News24 site notes that al-Bashir, who has two wives and no children, was born in 1944 in Hosh Bannaga, north of Khartoum, to a farming family. He entered the military at a young age, rising through the ranks and joining an elite parachute regiment. In 1989, then a brigade commander, he led a bloodless coup against the democratically elected government. 'al-Bashir became skilful over time. He learned the trade. At the beginning, he was not a prominent figure,' said Marc Lavergne, an Africa expert at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris. The dictator led Sudan towards a more radical brand of Islam, hosting al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and sending jihadist volunteers to fight in the country's civil war with the south Sudanese. In 1993, Washington put Sudan on its list of 'state sponsors of terrorism' and four years later slapped Khartoum with a trade embargo over charges that included human rights abuses.