Sudan’s Embattled President Reaches out to Old Rival
Faced with a controversial attempt by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest him for genocide, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has tapped his predecessor to help craft a peace plan for Sudan’s troubled Western region of Darfur. Bashir has appointed Sudan’s former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, who he deposed in a 1989 coup, to head a panel mandated to draw up a resolution to the Darfur conflict. Mahdi is currently head of the northern opposition Umma Party. Meanwhile, the South’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has demanded a greater role in the resolution of the crisis, citing its historical link to the Darfur rebels.[PE]