Bashir in Egypt, Defying ICC Arrest Warrant
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Date: 3/25/2009 8:12:34 AM
Sender: VOA News
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Bashir in Egypt, Defying ICC Arrest Warrant
By VOA News
25 March 2009
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (L) meets with Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Cairo (25 March 2009)
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has arrived in Cairo, his second trip abroad since an international court ordered his arrest for alleged war crimes in Darfur.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak welcomed Mr. Bashir as he arrived at the airport Wednesday.
The International Criminal Court has called on nations to arrest the Sudanese president, but Egypt is considered unlikely to do that.
Egypt is not a signatory to the court, and has urged the United Nations Security Council to postpone the ICC＇s case against Mr. Bashir.
ICC prosecutors accuse Mr. Bashir of orchestrating a campaign of rape, murder and other crimes against civilians in Darfur, where his government has been fighting rebels since 2003.
The United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur says attackers set fire to a refugee camp near the border with Chad on Wednesday, destroying at least 600 shelters. At least one person was killed in the attack.
The United Nations says the fighting and related violence since 2003 has killed more than 200,000 people, and displaced more than 2.5 million others. Sudan says the death toll is around 10,000.
Mr. Bashir has said that despite the arrest warrant, he plans to attend an Arab summit in Qatar next week.
Claude Salhani, an editor with the Middle East Times, tells VOA that it is unlikely that any Arab country will enforce the arrest warrant against the Sudanese president.
Salhani says Arab countries will refuse to act out of solidarity and a fear that one day their leaders could face a similar fate.
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