UNITED NATIONS (AP) The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court accused the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday of prolonging the conflict in Darfur by its failure to take action to arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and others accused of war crimes.
Fatou Bensouda said the council's inaction and paralysis in the face of increasing violence against civilians has emboldened al-Bashir to ignore council resolutions and left victims with no hope for justice.
Darfur has been gripped by bloodshed since 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum, accusing it of discrimination and neglect. The United Nations says 300,000 people have died in the conflict and 2.7 million have fled their homes.
The Security Council referred the Darfur conflict to the International Criminal Court in 2005, but has failed to pressure the government to arrest al-Bashir and others accused of war crimes. U.N. diplomats say China, a major buyer of oil from Sudan, has blocked council action.
Bensouda minced no words in excoriating the council, saying "it is a serious indictment on this council" and on parties to the Rome statute that established the world's permanent war crimes tribunal that al-Bashir and Defense Minister Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, also wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, "have been able to travel to various countries without fear of arrest."