Sudan says al-Bashir to visit China; leader wanted on genocide charges is invited to parade

UNITED NATIONS – Sudan says President Omar al-Bashir will soon travel to China.

Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and war crimes. He made headlines in June by cutting short a South Africa visit while judges deliberated on whether he should be arrested.

Sudan's incoming U.N. ambassador, Omer Dahab Fadl Mohemed, told reporters Wednesday evening that al-Bashir will be in China "in the next few days" for a bilateral visit.

China has included al-Bashir on its list of invitees to its Sept. 3 parade commemorating the end of World War II.

China is not a party to the treaty that established the ICC, but it's a permanent member of the Security Council that referred the situation in Sudan's Darfur region to the court in 2005.