Sudan agrees to hand over Darfur war crimes accused
Sudan says it will surrender former officials who are wanted for alleged war crimes in the Darfur region to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
As yet, Sudan has not named the individuals being handed over. The country's rulers had already promised to surrender exPresident Omar al-Bashir who was in power during the conflict but this has not yet happened.
The war in Darfur caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises of recent years. At least 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict between rebels and government forces that began in 2003. Millions of others were forced from their homes and into displacement camps.
Sudan's decision comes weeks after the ICC's outgoing chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, visited the country and urged its leaders to surrender all those wanted including Mr Bashir, 77. He was the first person to be charged by the international court for the crime of genocide. The long-time leader was ousted by the military after mass protests in 2019, then sentenced to two years for corruption.
Other ex-officials wanted by the ICC are Former Defence Minister Abdelraheem Muhammad Hussein and former Minister of the Interior Ahmad Harun. Sudan's Darfur conflict. [ April 2003 Fighting starts in Darfur ],[ July 2007 UN Security Council approves Darfur peacekeeping force ],[ March 2009 International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur ],[ April 2019 Sudan's army ousts Bashir ],[ February 2020 Government agrees Bashir can stand trial at the ICC ],[ August 2020 Sudan's government agrees peace deal with five rebel groups ], Source: Source: BBC, Image:
Sudan's Darfur conflict. [ April 2003 Fighting starts in Darfur ],[ July 2007 UN Security Council approves Darfur peacekeeping force ],[ March 2009 International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur ],[ April 2019 Sudan's army ousts Bashir ],[ February 2020 Government agrees Bashir can stand trial at the ICC ],[ August 2020 Sudan's government agrees peace deal with five rebel groups ], Source: Source: BBC, Image:.