Sudanese President Could Face Genocide Charges in Darfur

The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday filed charges against Sudanese President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, for masterminding the genocide of nearly 300,000 people in Darfur through his regime of terror, rape and hunger that now has 2.5 million people living in refugee camps, according to the AP.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, petitioned a three-judge panel to seek the arrest warrant for President al- Bashir to prevent further genocide of the 2.5 million forced to live in refugee camps by the terror of armed Sudanese forces and the Janjaweed militia. If the judges grant the arrest warrant Interpol will arrest al-Bashir once he steps outside the Sudanese border or he could be extradited to The Hague. But the judges are expected to take months to study all the evidence brought against al- Bashir before they make the decision to issue an arrest warrant. If granted, the Sudanese president would face 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder.

The petition for al-Bashir's arrest followed years of protest from the international community, humanitarians and even some Hollywood celebrities to end genocide in Darfur. And as recent as yesterday, thousands of protesters rallied in Khartoum to urge the ICC to end the genocide that had been ignored for far too long.

The Associated Press reports that a victim cited in the prosecutor's case paints a horrid picture of life in Darfur. Torture, hunger and rape are rampant. The victim said that "Maybe around 20 men rape one woman. These things are normal for us here in Darfur. I have seen rapes too. It does not matter who sees them raping the women - they don't care. They rape girls in front of their mothers and fathers." The ICC prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo said rape in Darfur is systemic, adding that women as old as 70 years old and girls as young as six years old are subject to rape daily.

Also, the Janjaweed has been targeting the refugee camps, denying those driven from their homes as far back as 2004 from access to food and water being provided by international humanitarian organizations.