Plane carrying Darfur war crimes suspect forced to make emergency landing
April 20, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — A Sudanese government minister wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) escaped death as a plane he was boarding almost crashed during severe thunderstorms.
The delegation also included senior military figures such as the head of the army engineering unit and the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) representative in the Joint Integrated Units (JIU).
The pro-government Akhir-Lahza said that the weather quickly deteriorated minutes after the plane took off from Malakal airport. The newspaper said the pilot “barely maneuvered through the thunderstorm causing all the passengers to hold their breath”.
As the plane approached Khartoum it was forced to divert to another airport in central Sudan’s Al-Obeid region after a sandstorm hit the Sudanese capital. The control tower in Khartoum airport authorized the plane to return after the weather improved half an hour later.
Haroun was part of a delegation observing the process of demining the road between the cities of Malakal, Bor and Juba.
The judges of the ICC issued their first arrest warrants for suspects accused of war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region in early May.
The warrants were issued for Ahmed Haroun and militia commander Ali Mohamed Ali Abdel-Rahman, also know as Ali Kushayb. Sudan has so far rejected handing over the two suspects.
Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statue, but the UN Security Council triggered the provisions under the Statue that enables it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security.
(ST)