International Criminal Court judges issued their first arrest warrants for suspects accused of war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region, the ICC said on Wednesday, but Sudan refused to hand over the men. The warrants were issued for Ahmed Haroun, former state minister of interior, and militia commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, also know as Ali Kushayb.
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had found "reasonable grounds to believe" the two were responsible for murder, rape, and torture, as well as the forced displacement of villages, and other war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, the court said in a statement. "The government of the Sudan has a legal duty to arrest Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kushayb," the court said.