Kigali: The International Criminal Court on Tuesday dropped the charge of Genocide against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, a move bitters campaigners argue leaves nobody responsible for the alleged mass killings in Darfur.   

Judges ruled that there was not enough evidence against Mr. Bashir. Prosecutors are reported to have said immediately that they will appeal the decision.   

Chief Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo wants Mr Bashir arrested on ten counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide linked to Sudan's six-year war in its western Darfur province.

However, the indictment got a major slap when the African Union heads of state summit in Libya last week unanimously agreed to disregard the warrants. They all said they will not act on the warrants. Rwanda’s own President Kagame is a strong critic of the court – to which his country is not a signatory.

Rwanda Prime Minister Bernard Makuza conceded the resolution had been "a hot spot' in the leaders' three-day summit, but that countries finally approved the Libyan-led decision because they don't feel fairly treated by the ICC.

"We're not promoting impunity, but we're saying that Westerners who don't understand anything about Africa should stop trying to import their solutions,' Makuza told the AP on the sidelines of the summit.

He and other leaders say the ICC indictment threatens Sudan's fragile peace process and could create a power vacuum in the country. Rwanda has some 3500 troops in the troubled region, part of the struggling UN/AU force thats even been barely able to protect civilians. Some 300,000 are estimated to have died since 2003 and more than 2million displaced.

< Prev		Next >