Thousands of Sudanese rally in support of leader

THOUSANDS of protesters chanting “Down, Down USA!” rallied in Khartoum yesterday after reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may seek the arrest of Sudan’s president for alleged war crimes.

A senior European diplomat said on Friday the court’s prosecutor was likely to seek the arrest of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in a case he will open today about war crimes the ICC has said were committed in Sudan’s Darfur region.

“With our souls, with our blood we die for Bashir,” the protesters chanted as they marched through the streets of Khartoum towards the offices of the UN. The government-organised protest brought traffic to a standstill. Hundreds of people also gathered near the cabinet office where the government was holding emergency talks. “The ICC does just what the European Union, the United States of America and Israel tell it to do,” the protesters said in a statement delivered to the UN offices.