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UN withdraws Sudan staff
The UN was pulling non-essential staff from Darfur yesterday as Islamist protesters rallied behind Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir over allegations he masterminded a campaign of genocide in the region.Fears of a violent backlash have mounted since the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor on Monday sought an arrest warrant against Bashir on 10 counts including war crimes and the use of rape to commit genocide in Darfur. United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon renewed his call for Khartoum to protect UN personnel after an international prosecutor sought the arrest of Sudan's president for alleged genocide. "I again urge the government to fully cooperate with the United Nations," Ban said. The African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission, meanwhile, said it would be flying out non-essential staff to Ethiopia and Uganda, despite pledges from Sudan to protect peacekeepers and aid workers in the country. Africa reacted with alarm to the prospect of the president being slapped with an arrest warrant for war crimes and slammed the global justice system as hasty, interventionist and biased. US President George W Bush said he wanted to see how an international prosecutor's arrest warrant for Bashir "plays out," but that Khartoum could face more sanctions. Posted by: Fred 2008-07-16 |
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