ARREST WARRANTS ISSUED FOR TWO JIHADISTS IN SUDAN

The Hague has issued warrants for the arrest and prosecution of at least two Islamofascists who tore up Darfur:

THE HAGUE (AFP) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued its first arrest warrants over the Darfur conflict for a Sudanese minister and a Janjaweed militia leader accused of murder, torture and rape.

In documents released Wednesday the judges said there were "reasonable grounds" to conclude that Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's secretary of state for humanitarian affairs and a former minister in charge of Darfur, and Ali Kosheib, a principal leader of the Khartoum-backed Janjaweed, were "criminally responsible" for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.

Khartoum was quick to reject the warrants, saying the court had no jurisdiction in the matter.

That was fully expected, as it's truly a dictatorship that's running Sudan there.

The ICC arrest warrants, dated April 27, charge Haroun and Kosheib with a long list of 51 counts including murder, torture, mass rape and the forced displacement of entire villages during a series of attacks in western Darfur in 2003 and 2004.

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo hailed the move as "a big and important step ahead".

"These two will have to face justice, they will be in the dock, in two months or two years ... they know that," he told AFP Wednesday.

Moreno-Ocampo focused his 20-month investigation on events alleged to have occurred between 2003 and 2004, the most violent period in the crisis.

The Arab Janjaweed, armed and backed by the Sudanese government, are accused of the worst violence, involving attacks on civilians of black African origin following a rebellion against Khartoum.

"The judges have issued arrest warrants. As the territorial state, the government of the Sudan has a legal duty to arrest Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kosheib. This is the International Criminal Court's decision, and the government has to respect it," the prosecution said.

Sudan meanwhile insisted that the ICC has no jurisdiction to try alleged crimes committed in Darfur.

"Sudan rejects the ICC prosecutor's decision and our position is in line with international law because Sudan is not a member of the treaty that founded this jurisdiction," Sudanese Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardhi said.

Some critics of the ICC have said the arrest warrants could hamper efforts to broker a peace in Darfur.

Ah, I've heard that excuse before. Except that dictators like the ones running Sudan are disqualified from being in positions of power, and so the rules they speak of don't apply here.