Sudanese Government to Hand Over Former President Omar al-Bashir to the ICC

According to the BBC, Sudan's current transitional government or Sovereign Council, has agreed to hand over former president Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of genocide and war crimes.

Last year, al-Bashir was forced to step down after Sudan's historic uprising which saw months of protests and pressure from the military eventually force the statesman out of office. Al-Bashir has been in prison under heavy guard in the capital of Khartoum since then.

According to Associated Press, al-Bashir is wanted largely for his role in the 2003 conflict in Darfur. He is currently facing three counts of genocide, five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes during his thirty-year long rule over Sudan. Al-Bashir has been on the ICC's wanted list for over a decade now.

A spokesman for the Sudanese government, Mohammed Hassan al-Taishi, recently spoke to Associated Presssaying , "We agreed that everyone who had arrest warrants issued against them will appear before the ICC. I'm saying it very clearly." Al-Taishi added that, "We can only achieve justice if we heal the wounds with justice itself. We cannot escape from confronting that."

CNN reports that Sudan's recent decision to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC is part of an agreement they entered into with the rebel movement in Darfur.

Following last year's uprising, Sudan's—military which was in charge of the country at the time before the formation of the current Sovereign Council—announced that it would not allow al-Bashir to be extradited for his alleged crimes and that a trial would be conducted in Sudan instead.

What remains unclear at this point is an established timeline that details when exactly this is set to happen.