ADDIS ABABA: The African Union urged the UN Security Council yesterday to put on hold the International Criminal Court’s moves to indict Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir over war crimes in Darfur.
The call, after a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council in Ethiopia, followed a similar appeal by the Arab League and boosted to Khartoum’s diplomatic efforts to block any indictment. The international court’s prosecutor has asked for a warrant for Bashir on suspicion of masterminding crimes against humanity in Darfur. The crisis over the possible indictment has raised fears for the fragile peace process in Africa’s biggest state.
“The African Union requests the UN Security Council ... to defer the process initiated by the ICC,” the AU council said in a statement after the meeting.
