A Defiant Sudan Strikes Back after ICC Decision

On March 4,the International Criminal Court announced that they had issued an arrest warrant for Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, President of Sudan. The charges include war crime and crime against humanity stemming from allegations that he ordered attacks on civilians in the Darfur region. These attacks employed rape, murder, forcible relocation and torture as a standard method of war. These attacks have led to an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths and over 2.5 million people being displaced.

A defiant Al Bashir reportedly said that the decision by the ICC would not stop him from doing his "work" calling the warrant a conspiracy against his country and new form of colonialism.

Sudanese ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem said:

"We strongly condemn this criminal move, It amounts to an attempt at regime change. We are not going to be bound by it."

In an act of defiance The Sudanese government expelled at least 10 humanitarian aid groups including Portland based Mercy Corps who has about 225 aid workers in Darfur and for the past five years has been providing aid to around 200,000 internally displaced people. Also on the list of expelled aid groups are Oxfam, CARE, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-Holland, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, Action Contre la Faim, Solidarites and CHF International. According to the U.N. there are about 76 aid organization working in Darfur however the 10 being expelled did the majority of the work.

The operational director of MSF-Holland, Arjan Hehenkamp, said:

"It is absurd that we as an independent organization are caught up in a political and judicial process,"

Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha of Sudan confirmed the expulsion of the groups saying:

"Whenever an organization takes humanitarian aid as a cover to achieve a political agenda that affects the security of the county and its stability, measures are to be taken by law to protect the country and its interests,"

According to the aid groups this decision will affect up to two million people who are relying on them for food, shelter and water.