More trouble for Sudan: ICC seeks to nail defense minister

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Sudan’s defense minister on Friday as part of the court’s investigation into atrocities in the Darfur conflict, spelling out more trouble for Khartoum. Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked ICC judges for a warrant for Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, the sixth person sought by the ICC or before the court for crimes committed in the arid war-torn African region. The warrant, if approved, would cover crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from August 2003 to March 2004. “Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein was involved in the crimes and that’s why we requested the chamber to add him as being responsible,” Moreno-Ocampo told AFP. Khartoum’s interior minister at the time, Hussein is wanted for allegedly coordinating attacks against civilians in west Darfur. “The evidence allowed the office of the prosecutor to conclude that Mr. Hussein is one of those who bears the greatest criminal responsibility” for crimes committed in Darfur, Moreno-Ocampo’s office added. The ICC has already issued arrest warrants for Sudan’s President Omar Bashir as well as for a former minister of state for the interior and a militia leader, who all remain at large. Bashir has so far been able to travel widely without being arrested. Villages were surrounded, bombed by the Sudanese air force, and then attacked by Sudanese troops and Janjaweed militia.