(24 July 08 - RV) Sudan's president visited Darfur yesterday and said he would not
be cowed by his indictment on genocide charges nor allow it to distract him from the
search for peace in the troubled region. Addressing supporters in Darfur's capital
of al-Fasher, a defiant Omar al-Bashir also sought to cast himself as a peacemaker
and discount the significance of his July 14 indictment by the International Criminal
Court's prosecutor. The ICC’s Chief Proseceutor filed 10 charges against al-Bashir
for masterminding a campaign of extermination and rape specifically targeting three
Darfur tribes. The U.N. says about 300,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been
uprooted over the past five years. Humanitarian Officer at Cafod, Anthony Mahony spoke
to us about the current situation in Darfur and how a lack of security in the region
is affecting both the people and aid workers.