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African Union asks Security Council to delay genocide prosecution of Sudan's president

The African Union asked the U.N. Security Council in a letter circulated on Friday to delay for a year the prosecution of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide and other alleged crimes.

In a letter to the council circulated Friday, the continent-wide organization said it wants the delay because a trial of al-Bashir would interfere with efforts to end the seven-year conflict in western Darfur.

His letter was made public hours before a high-level meeting on Sudan on the sideline of the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting. President Barack Obama and other leaders were expected to focus on a crucial referendum on southern independence scheduled for January, but prospects for peace in Darfur were also likely to be raised....

Read entire article at AP