U.S. and European media

April 8, 2023

Associated Press: Court Prosecutor: Isolate Sudan's President. The International Criminal Court's deputy prosecutor urged world leaders on Tuesday to cut ties with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the court for alleged war crimes in Darfur. The court's deputy prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, urged nations to "deny Omar al-Bashir any form of support." "States should implement a consistent diplomatic campaign to support the court's decision," she told diplomats in The Hague. "Nonessential contacts with Omar al-Bashir should be severed." "The expulsion of aid workers is another step in the commission of the crime of extermination," Bensouda said.

Associated Press: Aid expulsion heavy blow to Darfur women, children. With her health options limited, one woman in this Darfur refugee camp is considering a risky alternative: a traditional healer who promises his potion of holy water, charcoal and glue, touched by verses of the Quran, can cure her uterus inflammation. It's not a choice 22-year-old Mastoura Hussein would have considered before the Sudanese government threw out some of the biggest aid groups working in war-torn Darfur. The order forced the departure of the doctors she had been seeing at a specialized women's health clinic. The expulsion has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis across Darfur, where several million rely on agencies for food, health care and shelter. Aid workers warn that the greatest impact will be on women and children, who make up more than 60 percent of the 2.7 million people driven from their homes in the 6-year-old war. Health facilities focused on women and children have been gouged, and workers fear women will resort to so-called "baladi" methods, a mixture of traditional herbs and magic.

Reuters: Sudan's Bashir Vows to Try Darfur War Criminals. Sudan's embattled president told a rally Tuesday that his own officials would track down war criminals in Darfur, dismissing Western attempts to bring justice to the region. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir -- who is himself wanted on charges of masterminding atrocities in Darfur -- addressed a crowd of thousands in Zalingei, one of the most politically charged towns in Darfur. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Bashir to face charges of alleged war crimes carried out during almost six years of fighting in Sudan's violent west, but he has refused to deal with the court. Sudan appointed its own special prosecutor to look into reports of war crimes in Darfur in August, but the move has so far not produced any new prosecutions. The ICC has also issued arrest warrants for a Sudanese government minister and a militia leader over charges of war crimes in Darfur. Sudan has refused to hand them over.


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