Excerpts from the CNN report:

Judges at the International Criminal Court ruled Wednesday that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir may be charged with genocide for his role in a five-year campaign of violence in western Sudan’s Darfur region.
… “Genocide is a much more complicated legal position to meet (than war crimes and crimes against humanity), because you have to show in proving genocide that there was a specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a group based on — in this case — ethnicity or race,” Ellis told CNN in July. “Obviously, the prosecutor believes he would be able to prove this intent and so he wants the opportunity to prove that in trial.”

The warrant for al-Bashir was the first ever issued by the ICC for a sitting head of state. It currently includes five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape. It also includes two charges of war crimes for intentionally directing attacks against civilians and for pillaging.

… Al-Bashir is the front-runner in an election scheduled to take place in April, and a genocide charge is unlikely to harm his prospects.

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