African Media Coverage

October 1-15, 2008

South Africa: IOL
“Mass rape does not exist”
Published: October 10, 2023

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir rejected the allegations of war crimes against him as "made up" and said mass rape "does not exist" in Darfur, in an interview broadcast here on Thursday.

Beshir, who is accused by the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor of genocide and crimes against humanity in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, told Channel Four News the sources for the claims were "all hostile."

"These allegations are not correct. Everything is fabricated and made up. Anything saying that we ordered killing people is untrue," he said.

"The sources used by the ICC prosecutor are all hostile; they are from the rebels who revolted against the state."

Beshir also denied reports of mass rape in displaced persons camps.

"The women inside the camps are under the influence of the rebels and some are even relatives of the rebels. That's why they make these claims," he said.

Read the full article here.

Angola: Angola Press
“Militia attack Darfur villages”
Published: October 12, 2023

KHARTOUM - Rebel commanders in Darfur on Sunday accused Arab militias, which are backed by the Sudan government, of attacking villages in the southern swathe of the region, killing civilians and torching homes.
 
The accusations, on top of fighting in North Darfur said to have displaced thousands of civilians, are likely to increase Western concern over President Omar al-Beshir who is facing a possible arrest warrant for war crimes.

The UN-led peacekeeping operation in Darfur confirmed fighting on Saturday south of Muhagiriya, but said the details remained sketchy.

"I can confirm fighting, but between whom and whom has not been confirmed. UNAMID sent a patrol yesterday but it was stopped by militias. We are closely monitoring the situation," said Major Ahmed Salah, deputy military spokesman.

Members of the deeply fractured Sudan Liberation Movement, which first rose up against the government in 2003, said Janjaweed Arab militia assaulted villages in the Muhagiriya area, east of the South Darfur state capital Nyala.

"All of them were Janjaweed. The government gave them bullets and uniforms, and they came to the villages. Our forces fought with them yesterday," Abu Bakr Kadu, a Sudan Liberation Movement-Unity commander, told AFP by telephone.

Kadu described himself as "the general commander" of his forces who fought the militias over three days of attacks, from Thursday until Saturday.

Read the full article here.

South Africa: News 24
“Warrant for Bashir criticized”
Published: October 13, 2023

Arab justice ministers said on Sunday that an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president requested by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has "no sound legal basis".

The group's statement, issued after a daylong meeting in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, was a show of support for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is the first sitting head of state to face genocide charges.

Al-Bashir has dismissed ICC charges that he directed mass killings in Darfur as politically motivated and aimed at destabilising his government. Sudanese officials have lobbied African and Arab governments to support al-Bashir by calling for the ICC to freeze the prosecution process.

Head ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has asked judges to issue an arrest warrant for al-Bashir, but no decision has been announced.

The group of Arab justice ministers said it "rejects attempts to politicise the principles of international justice" and stated that the ICC prosecutor's request "has no sound legal basis".

Read the full article here.