As Sudan Tribune writes, "an alliance of Sudanese Islamic jihadists and Darfur Arab militia groups pledged to carry out attacks against countries that are supporting the decisions of the International Criminal Court (ICC)" in retaliation to the last weeks indictment of Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur since 2003.



The alliance promised "world imperialists and CIA agents in US, UK, and France with another September 11 attack." The group also called for assassinations of the ICC chief prosecutor and Darfur rebel leaders.

The joint statement was signed by the Martyr Abu-Qiseissah Suicide Group, Ansar Al-Sunnah Al-Jihadiyah Group, the Group in Search of Martyrdom, the Martyr Ali Abdel-Fattah Brigade, and the Darfur Lions Brigade.

Earlier, high ranking officials from Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad visited Khartoum after the ICC arrest warrant was issued and expressed full support for president al-Bashir.

Ali Larijani, Iran's parliament speaker, said the ICC indictment is an "insult directed at Muslims."

Interestingly, over the last six years, while the Sudanese Arab government and their militias ravaged Darfur, killing more than 200,000 people and displacing over 2 million, hardly anybody in the Arab and Muslim world objected.

It did not matter that the victims in Darfur were Muslims.

Even though millions of innocent Muslims have been oppressed in Darfur since 2003, the fact that they are the victims of an Arab regime in Khartoum seems to prevent the Arab and Muslim public and governments from even acknowledging the suffering and humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur.

Up to this day, not one Arab or Muslim leader has publicly criticized Sudan's actions and atrocities in Darfur.

But now that president al-Bashir is charged for the war crimes and crimes against humanity, this is seen in Sudan and across the Middle East as yet another Western imperialist conspiracy which justifies calls for a global jihad against "crusaders, infidels, and Zionists."

Peace and Justice Distant

Just before the ICC issued the arrest warrant for Sudanesepresident, court's chief prosecutor, Louis Moreno-Ocampo, said an indictment would be "the end of president al-Bashir. It would have such a destabilizing effect on domestic politics that he would not be able to hold onto power."

In reality, it's quite opposite. Omar al-Bashir's popularity is on the rise in Sudan and across the Arab and Muslim world. Instead of being seen as a war criminal, many around the world see him as a victim of the new Western imperialism while the International Criminal Court is seen as a tool the Western countries use to suppress the developing world.

The most likely long-term scenario for Sudan is that al-Bashir will remain in power and continue business as usual despite the arrest warrant. The conflict in Darfur will continue and even escalate further, while the Sudanese opposition and freedom of speech and expression are violently suppressed.

Seen as war criminals around the world, al-Bashir and his government will have little or no reason to negotiate peace in Darfur.

Furthermore, al-Bashir's indictment is very likely to disrupt the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 which ended the two-decades-long war between Sudan and southern Sudan.

Justice is very important for the victims, post-conflict reconciliation and development, and the future of Darfur and Sudan. However, the aim of the international community should be to first bring peace to Darfur and then punish the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

But peace and justice in Darfur and long-term stability in Sudan seem now more distant then before the ICC indictment of al-Bashir.