Sudan's Bashir to Visit China in Rare Long-Distance Trip
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is to make a rare long-distance visit to China, the foreign ministry said Sunday, despite an International Criminal Court indictment for alleged war crimes in Darfur.
Bashir is to attend September 3 celebrations marking Japan's defeat in World War II and meet his Chinese counterpart, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
"President Bashir will travel to China tomorrow (Monday) on a visit lasting four days," Ali al-Sadeq told reporters.
The International Criminal Court indicted Bashir over war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2009 and genocide charges in 2010, all relating to the Darfur conflict.
He has since regularly traveled to Sudan's neighbors but rarely makes long-distance visits. He last traveled to China in 2011.
China is not a signatory to the ICC but is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, which referred the Darfur case to the court.
A South African court ordered authorities to stop Bashir from leaving the country when he attended an African Union summit in Johannesburg in June, but he was allowed to fly out.
The government said Bashir had immunity from arrest because he was attending an AU summit.
The Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 when ethnic insurgents mounted a campaign against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government, complaining of marginalization.
It has left 300,000 dead and some 2.5 million displaced, according to U.N. figures.
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