IDP and refugee camps across the region welcome arrest warrant, defence minister rejects it

The Sudanese defence and interior minister Abdel Rahim Muhammed Hussein has rejected the arrest warrant issued yesterday by the International Criminal Court for alleged criminal responsibility in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The defence minister said he considers the warrant as politically driven, and generally targeting the Sudanese state, which began with issuing warrants for President Al Bashir and Ahmed Haroun amongst others.Darfur IDP camps express joy at news of warrant Internally displaced people in Darfur, forced to flee their villages from conflict, since 2003, welcomed the issuing of the arrest warrant to the minister charged for 41 war crimes and crimes against humanity in Wadi Salih, particularly Bindisi, Mokhtar and Orola. Displaced citizens told Radio Dabanga that Rahim was in charge of actual crimes committed in their villages, such as rapes, killings, burning of homes, along with the rationalisation of displacing people to camps, such as Garsila and Wadi Salih, in which they still reside today. A witness said he remembers when Rahim visited the region and addressed a crowd in Garsila, he reportedly told them that as a representative of the president of the republic he would kill anyone thought to be against the state or siding with rebels as no one could hold him accountable. The witness said Rahim admitting this attitude in public led to the murder and genocide that took place in Darfur.Eastern Chad refugee camps willing to testify in court In the refugee camps of Eastern Chad, where tens of thousands of Darfuri refugees currently reside, camp residents expressed their joy at the news of Abdul Rahim’s arrest warrant. Speaking on behalf of the refugees, one of the camp leaders told Radio Dabanga that the triumph will only be complete when the defence minister and President Al Bashir are taken to the International Criminal Court. The leader said the refugees as victims, have been demanding the ICC tries those responsible for crimes in Darfur since the conflict began, and the situation has only deteriorated, as the same people are now committing similarly heinous crimes in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. He said Darfuri refugees are quite ready and willing to testify in court against the indicted Abdul Rahim, Omar Al Bashir and Ahmed Haroun.Blue Nile refugees in South Sudan welcome warrant In in Doro, Al Jimam and Jelhak camps in Upper Nile state, in South Sudan, where thousands of refugees from Blue Nile state now reside, and where many continue to arrive on a daily basis, refugees said they were happy with the latest arrest warrant issued to Rahim. Sarah Musa, a refugee from Blue Nile state living in Doro camp told Radio Dabanga that Abdul Rahim and Al Bashir are mainly responsible for the bombing, looting and destruction that forced them out of their homes. She said even as Blue Nile residents fled their homes, government planes continued to terrorise them from above. Displaced families from Blue Nile state continue to arrive at the camps in South Sudan on a daily basis.Nuba in Yida camp say ICC should move quicker on arrests Yida camp in Unity state, South Sudan which is now home to tens of thousands refugees, having fled SAF bombing in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, have also expressed their happiness at the latest arrest warrant. Witnesses said the situation that happened in Darfur is now playing out in South Kordofan; with aerial bombardment, indiscriminate killings, rapes, and displacement of a specific ethnic group. A witness said Abdul Rahim is behind President Al Bashir, and the ICC should speed up their arrests along with that of Ahmed Haroun, the governor of South Kordofan, as they are now also committing genocide and ethnic cleansing, and utilising food as a weapon in the Nuba Mountains.