Sudan leader indicted for genocide

The International Criminal Court today issued a second arrest warrant for Sudan's president Omar Hassan al-Bashir for the crime…

The International Criminal Court today issued a second arrest warrant for Sudan's president Omar Hassan al-Bashir for the crime of genocide.

Mr Bashir, who faces an ICC arrest warrant from March 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity, has dismissed the court's claims that he is responsible for crimes in the Darfur region leading to the death of as many as 300,000 people and a campaign of "rape, hunger and fear" against a further 2.5 million in refugee camps.

The conflict in Darfur began when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the government in 2003. They accused Khartoum of discriminating against non-Arab farmers in Darfur in favour of Arab tribes.

Mr Bashir is the first sitting president to be charged by the Hague-based court since it was set up in 2002.

Reuters