Sudan President Bashir's Libya trip draws criticism

President Bashir supported the anti-Gaddafi uprising

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has arrived in Libya on his first visit since the fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi.

President Bashir arrived with a high-level delegation for a two-day visit, airport sources were quoted as saying.
He is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of genocide in Darfur and the visit was criticised by Human Rights Watch.
It said it raised questions about the new Libyan leadership's commitment to human rights and the rule of law.
President Bashir was met by Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), at Tripoli airport, a Libyan official - who asked not to be named - told Reuters news agency.

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Accusations against Omar al-Bashir

Genocide

• Killing members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups
• Causing these groups serious bodily or mental harm
• Inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about these groups' physical destruction

Crimes against humanity

• Murder
• Extermination
• Forcible transfer
• Rape
• Torture

War crimes

• Attacks on civilians in Darfur
• Pillaging towns and villages

'Disturbing'

Under Col Gaddafi's rule, bilateral relations were strained because Sudan accused him of supporting rebels in Darfur.

In return, President Bashir openly supported last year's rebel uprising in Libya. According to Reuters, Mr Jalil - who visited Khartoum in November - has said Mr Bashir supplied Sudanese weapons and ammunition to the former rebels.
But the NTC's welcome for Mr Bashir was criticised by Richard Dicker, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement.
"Welcoming Bashir... raises questions about the NTC's stated commitment to human rights and the rule of law," he said.
"Following the end of decades of brutal rule in Libya, it is disturbing if Tripoli hosts a head of state on the run from international arrest warrants for grave human rights violations."
The ICC has issued two warrants for Mr Bashir's arrest - the first, in March 2009, on counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, and the second, in July 2010, on three counts of genocide.
That obliges all countries who are signatories to the ICC charter to arrest Mr Bashir if they have the chance - this does not, however, include Libya because it is not a signatory.
Mr Bashir has avoided arrest on a number of trips abroad, including trips to Chad, Kenya and Malawi - all ICC signatories - in the last year alone. He also visited China, which is not a signatory.
Several African states have been referred to the UN Security Council by the ICC over their failure to to co-operate with the court.
Some 2.7 million people have fled their homes since the conflict began in Darfur in 2003, and the UN says about 300,000 have died - mostly from disease.
Sudan's government says the conflict has killed about 12,000 people and the number of dead has been exaggerated for political reasons.