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US protests attendance of Omar al-Bashir, a wanted fugitive of the International Criminal Court, at a meeting in Saudi Arabia where Trump will be
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Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir is wanted for war crimes committed by his forces in the province of Darfur. Photograph: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images
US protests attendance of Omar al-Bashir, a wanted fugitive of the International Criminal Court, at a meeting in Saudi Arabia where Trump will be
Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir is wanted for war crimes committed by his forces in the province of Darfur. Photograph: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images
The US has protested against plans by the Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), to attend a summit in Riyadh this weekend alongside Donald Trump.
“I can confirm President Bashir will go ... to Saudi Arabia,” Sudan’s foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour told reporters in Geneva on Wednesday, according to Agence France Presse. “We look forward (to) normalisation of our relations with the US.”
Riyadh will be the venue for a summit of Islamic leaders on Sunday which will be part of Trump’s Middle East tour. But the announcement came as a surprise to the White House.
“My understanding was that he would NOT be at the meeting with the president,” Michael Anton, the spokesman for the National Security Council, said in an email. Anton said it was possible that Bashir could be going to Saudi Arabia but not attending the summit.
Bashir has been a wanted fugitive from the ICC since March 2009, when the court issued a first warrant for his arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his forces between 2003 and 2008 in the Sudanese province of Darfur.
The US embassy in Khartoum issued a statement saying that the US “has made its position with respect to Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir’s travel clear. We oppose invitations, facilitation, or support for travel by any person subject to outstanding International Criminal Court arrest warrants, including President Bashir.”
The embassy statement also said that Sudan was still on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism and therefore subject to sanctions.
“My understanding was that he would NOT be at the meeting with the president,” Michael Anton, the spokesman for the National Security Council, said in an email. Anton said it was possible that Bashir could be going to Saudi Arabia but not attending the summit.
Bashir has been a wanted fugitive from the ICC since March 2009, when the court issued a first warrant for his arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his forces between 2003 and 2008 in the Sudanese province of Darfur.
The US embassy in Khartoum issued a statement saying that the US “has made its position with respect to Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir’s travel clear. We oppose invitations, facilitation, or support for travel by any person subject to outstanding International Criminal Court arrest warrants, including President Bashir.”
The embassy statement also said that Sudan was still on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism and therefore subject to sanctions.