KHARTOUM: A top Sudanese official said Tuesday the country’s transitional authorities and rebel groups have agreed to hand over former autocratic President Omar Al Bashir to the International Criminal Court for war crimes, including mass killings in Darfur.
Al Bashir, who was overthrown by the military last year amid a public uprising, is wanted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide related to the Darfur conflict. Since his ouster in April, he has been in jail in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, on charges of corruption and killing protesters.
Mohammed Hassan Al Taishi, a member of the Sovereign Council and a government negotiator, said that they have agreed with rebel groups in Darfur to hand over those wanted by the International Criminal Court to face justice in The Hague.
He is accused of genocide and war crimes in the conflict that broke out in Darfur in 2003, which killed around 300,000 people.
Bashir was ousted as president in April last year. He came to power in a military coup in 1989 and ruled Sudan with an iron fist. ICC prosecutors in The Hague have requested he stand trial over the Darfur killings.
The UN says that around 2.5 million people were displaced in the war.
(With inputs from agencies)
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