Omar El Bechir in Morocco despite the arrest warrant issued by the ICC

Sudanese President Omar Hassan El Bechir is expected to visit Morocco on Thursday (August 3rd) after being invited by King Mohammed VI in July 2016, reports Le Desk and Telquel, quoting a Sudanese online newspaper called Akhir Lahza.

«The President of the Republic is expected in Morocco on the 3rd of August. Akhir Lahza learned that the king of Morocco accepted the invitation of El Bashir to visit Khartoum. El Bashir had received an official invitation from the King of Morocco to go to Rabat», wrote the Sudanese media platform without citing any sources.

Since 2010, the Sudanese president has been subject to two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). In March 2009, al-Bashir became the first sitting president to be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), for allegedly directing a campaign of mass killing, rape, and pillage against civilians in Darfur. In July 2010, the Court issued a second warrant containing three separate counts.

The Sudanese president has been known for having repeatedly defied international justice. In 2015, a South African court seized by an NGO had banned the 71-year-old Sudanese president elected since 1989 from leaving South Africa after attending the African Union summit. But he ended up joining his country at the end of the event.

During a visit to Khartoum in July 2016, former Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar announced from Sudan that King Mohammed VI had invited the Sudanese President to Rabat. Transmitting the invitation to the Sudanese president, Mezouar said that Sudan and Morocco are facing the same foreign challenges and threats.