UPDATED: ICC Seeks Arrest of Bashir, Sudan Expels Aid Agencies

Update (5 March): The Sudanese Government responded to the ICC's arrest warrant by expelling international aid agencies, including Oxfam, Medicins Sans Frontieres, and Mercy Corps, from the country.

As expected, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Al-Bashir is is charged with seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes in connection with the violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur since 2003. Five counts are for crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape. The other two counts are for war crimes, direction of attacks against civilians, and pillaging.

The ICC chief prosecutor had filed charges of genocide against al-Bashir. These were not included in the warrant; an ICC spokesman said evidence submitted to date did not support those charges. They be added in an amended version at a later date.

For a useful analysis of the ICC proceedings, see Simon Tisdall in The Guardian earlier this week.