ICC commence investigation into alleged crimes in Nigeria, Sudan and others...As Al-Bashir escapes arrest

ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda Sunday said that ICC has launched preliminary investigations into alleged crimes in Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Honduras, Iraq, Palestine and Ukraine, as well as in Guinea and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, information from South Africa indicate that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has left South Africa and is returning to Khartoum.

"The president finished his business in South Africa and is coming back home," Sudanese Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman said Sunday evening by phone.

"Al-Bashir went to South Africa with complete guarantees that it will respect the African position regarding the ICC."

Al-Bashir's reported departure came against an order by the High Court in Pretoria made earlier on Sunday barring the Sudanese president from leaving the country.