Sudan’s al-Bashir set to visit Saudi Arabia, though no confirmation on Trump meeting
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been invited to an Arab and Muslim leaders summit with visiting U.S. President Donald Trump, though it is not clear whether he will attend the talks.
The weekend visit will be Trump’s first since taking office.
The U.S. president is set to address the summit on his “hopes for a peaceful vision of Islam”.
The International Criminal Court in 2010 issued a warrant of arrest against President al-Bashir for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity related to the conflict in Darfur, which has claimed at least 300,000 lives.
The Sudan leader has however denied the charges, and the Hague-based court has failed in its attempts to arrest him.
NBC reports a U.S. official to say that Trump’s administration opposes invitation or travel by individuals facing ICC indictments.
“The United States has made its position with respect to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s travel clear,” the official is quoted to say.
“While the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, which is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court, we nevertheless strongly support efforts to hold accountable those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including such acts in Darfur,” the official added.
Sudan was one of the seven countries included in Mr Trump’s proposed travel ban, along with Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
