KHARTOUM: Supporters of ousted Sudanese leader Omar Al-Bashir held a protest Saturday vowing to oppose any move by the country’s new authorities to hand him over to the International Criminal Court.
Dozens of his supporters, carrying Bashir’s portrait, gathered outside the Khartoum court where he is being tried on charges of illegally acquiring and using foreign funds.
“We are with you. We will never betray you. No, no to ICC,” chanted the crowd as the former president was brought to the courthouse for a hearing.
The demonstration comes amid growing calls from human rights groups, activists and victims of Sudan’s Darfur war for the surrender of Bashir to The Hague-based court.
“President Bashir represents the whole of Sudan. We have an independent judiciary and if any trials are to be held, they must be held here,” said protester Mohamed Ali Daklai.
“We reject any outside or foreign tribunal. ICC is anyway a political court used by Western countries to pressure the weak.”
Bashir was ousted by the army on April 11 following nationwide protests against his iron-fisted rule of three decades.
The military generals who initially seized power after the president’s fall refused to hand Bashir over to the ICC.
He is wanted by the ICC for his alleged role in the Darfur war that erupted in 2003 as ethnic African rebels took up arms against Bashir’s then Arab-dominated government, accusing it of marginalizing the region economically and politically.
Khartoum applied what rights groups say was a scorched earth policy against ethnic groups suspected of supporting the rebels — raping, killing, looting and burning villages.
The ICC has accused Bashir of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the vast western region of Darfur. He denies the charges.
About 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the conflict, according to the United Nations.
Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades after seizing power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989, is being held in a Khartoum prison and facing trial on corruption charges.
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Supporters of Sudan’s Bashir oppose handover to ICC
Supporters of Sudan’s Bashir oppose handover to ICC
- Dozens of supporters gathered outside Khartoum court carrying Bashir’s portrait
- Bashir was ousted by the army on April 11 following nationwide protests
Israeli cabinet approves West Bank land registration, Palestinians condemn ‘de-facto annexation’
JERUSALEM: Israel’s cabinet on Sunday approved further measures to tighten Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, in a move Palestinians called “a de-facto annexation.”
The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.
His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.
Ministers voted in favor of beginning a process of land registration for the first time since 1967.
“We are continuing the revolution of settlement and strengthening our hold across all parts of our land,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s government.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said land registration was a vital security measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of action for Israel in the area to protect its citizens and safeguard national interests.
The cabinet said in a statement registration was an “appropriate response to illegal land registration processes promoted by the Palestinian Authority,” and would end disputes.
The PA presidency rejected the cabinet’s decision, saying it constitutes “a de-facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and a declaration of the commencement of annexation plans aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement activity.”
US President Donald Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel’s accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.
The United Nations’ highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view, saying it has historical and biblical ties to the land.
The land registration adds to a series of measures taken earlier this month to expand control.
The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.
His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.
Ministers voted in favor of beginning a process of land registration for the first time since 1967.
“We are continuing the revolution of settlement and strengthening our hold across all parts of our land,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s government.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said land registration was a vital security measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of action for Israel in the area to protect its citizens and safeguard national interests.
The cabinet said in a statement registration was an “appropriate response to illegal land registration processes promoted by the Palestinian Authority,” and would end disputes.
The PA presidency rejected the cabinet’s decision, saying it constitutes “a de-facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and a declaration of the commencement of annexation plans aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement activity.”
US President Donald Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel’s accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.
The United Nations’ highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view, saying it has historical and biblical ties to the land.
The land registration adds to a series of measures taken earlier this month to expand control.
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