March 4, 2009
The Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, was charged with war crimes over the conflict in Darfur, becoming the first sitting head of state issued with an arrest warrant by the international criminal court (ICC). The indictment included five counts of crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape. The two counts of war crimes were for directing attacks on the civilian population and pillaging. More than 200,000 people had been killed in Darfur since 2003.
