Bashir cancels trip to C. Africa after ICC judges demand his arrest

02/12/2010 13:20

President Omar Al Bashir canceled a trip to Central African Republic after the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) demanded that authorities there arrest him on arrival. The development, which follows a snub of Bashir by Libya, highlights the increasing isolation of the Sudanese leader. 

President Omar Al Bashir canceled a trip to Central African Republic after the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) demanded that authorities there arrest him on arrival. The development, which follows a snub of Bashir by Libya, highlights the increasing isolation of the Sudanese leader. The ICC judges “requested the Central African Republic to take all necessary measures to arrest Omar Al Bashir and transfer him to the Court, in the event and at the moment that he arrives in the country’s territory.”

Central African Republic in 2001 signed the Rome Statute, which obliges them to execute the outstanding arrest warrants against Bashir. The Sudanese leader is wanted on two warrants, one for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the other for three counts of genocide against the Zaghawa, Fur and Masalit peoples.

Statements from the ICC justices earlier this year failed to halt visits by Bashir to Chad and Kenya.