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Sudan's Beshir to visit Egypt for Darfur talks

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-22 16:22

CAIRO – Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir is due in Egypt on Sunday for talks on efforts to end the six-year conflict in Darfur, following a deal between a rebel group and Khartoum.

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir is due in Egypt on Sunday for talks on efforts to end the six-year conflict in Darfur, following a deal between a rebel group and Khartoum. [Agencies]

Related readings:  Sudan, Darfur rebels agree to hold peace talks  Chinese company drills ten wells in Sudan's Darfur  China's special representative for Darfur in Sudan  Sudan's president announces ceasefire in Darfur

Beshir is expected to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during his one-day visit, which comes as the International Criminal Court appears close to deciding whether to issue an arrest warrant for the Sudanese leader.

The ICC's chief prosecutor asked last July for an warrant to be issued against Beshir for alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that the ICC had decided to issue the warrant, but a spokesman for the court in The Hague said that "at this moment, there is no arrest warrant."

Last week, the Khartoum government and the most active rebel group in Darfur, the Justice and Equality Movement, signed a pact in Doha aimed at laying the groundwork for broader peace talks.

As part of the confidence-building deal, Sudan on Saturday freed 24 Darfur rebel prisoners.

According to the United Nations, 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in Darfur rose up against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government in February 2003.

Sudan puts the death toll at 10,000.