ICC delegation to visit Sudan to discuss case against Bashir

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - An International Criminal Court delegation is to visit Sudan to discuss the cases of ousted president Omar al-Bashir and other former officials, the government said on Saturday.

The delegation, led by prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, will discuss "cooperation" with Sudan over the wanted men, the government said in a statement.

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The court said Bensouda and a delegation would be in Khartoum for a few days, for the court's first visit since Bashir was ousted.

Bashir, who has been in jail in Khartoum since he was toppled after mass protests last year, has been indicted by the ICC for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

The court in The Hague accused him in 2009 and 2010 of masterminding atrocities in his campaign to crush a revolt in the Darfur region in which an estimated 300,000 people died.

Two other former officials wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity in Darfur, Ahmed Haroun and Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, also in detention in Khartoum.

Bashir's lawyer has repeatedly denounced the charges against the former president as politically motivated.

The civilian government that is running Sudan under a three-year transition with the military has signed a peace agreement with former rebels in Darfur and other neglected regions that had been fighting Bashir's government for years.

(Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz and Stephanie van den Berg, Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Mike Harrison and Kevin Liffey)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.