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U.S. "disappointed" no action taken against Sudan's al-Bashir

Xinhua, June 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

The United States expressed disappointment Monday that South Africa did not take action to prevent Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir from leaving the country.

Al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court ( ICC) for allegedly committing war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region in 2009, has returned to Sudanese capital Khartoum Monday after attending an African Union (AU) summit in South Africa.

The ICC had requested South Africa to arrest al-Bashir when he came to the country for the summit. South Africa, a signatory to the Rome Statute, has an obligation to arrest al-Bashir and hand him over to the ICC.

"Precisely how they meet that obligation is for South African authorities to determine," U.S. State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told a press briefing. "Clearly, some action should have been taken."

Rathke also said U.S. officials had conveyed U.S. views to the government of South Africa about the situation, but declined to provide further details.

In a statement issued Sunday, State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. is "deeply concerned" by al-Bashir's travel to South Africa for the AU summit.

"In light of the atrocities in Darfur, we call on the Government of South Africa to support the international community' s efforts to provide justice for the victims of these heinous crimes," Kirby said.

The High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, on Monday ruled that al-Bashir must be arrested, but the order came hours after the Sudanese President had left South Africa. Judge President Dunstan Mlambo said the government's failure to arrest al-Bashir "is inconsistent with the Constitution." Endite