BEIJING: China says Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir will visit the country in a little over a week, despite the fact he's wanted by an international court on war crimes charges. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Thursday that al-Bashir is making the June 27-30 visit at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao. Hong said al-Bashir will meet with Hu and other Chinese leaders and that talks would seek to promote peace in Sudan. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for al-Bashir for allegedly orchestrating atrocities in the African nation's Darfur region. However, China is not a member of the ICC and in 2008 expressed concerns that the court's indictment of al-Bashir could cause furtheٍ”q+tability in the region. The Sudanese leader rejects the charges and the Netherlands-based court, which has no police force and relies on member states to execute its orders and warrants. Al-Bashir previously has traveled without arrest to several friendly nations, including ICC treaty signatories Chad and Kenya.
