AU backs proposal for hybrid Darfur courts

ABUJA, Nigeria, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- The African Union approved a report Thursday by former South African President Thabo Mbeki calling for hybrid courts in Sudan's Darfur region.

Mbeki said the courts should have Sudanese and foreign judges, the BBC reported. He recommended the Sudanese government, which critics blame for violence in Darfur, should have a say in the choice.

While African leaders at a meeting in Abuja endorsed the report and Sudanese officials praised it, Yien Matthew Chol, a spokesman for the Sudan's People's Liberation Movement, told Voice of America it would not bring justice to Darfur.

Chol said the report did nothing to address the causes of the conflict in Darfur or what should happen to President Omar Bashir. He has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague but remains at large in Sudan.

"Who in Sudan or any of these African countries will catch President Al-Bashir and take him to the court whether it is a local court or an international court? This is the question to be answered," Chol said.

He said the courts recommended by Mbeki would undermine the ICC.