17 Nov 2013

No success for bid to suspend trials of Kenyan leaders

9:01 am on 17 November 2013

The UN Security Council has rejected an attempt to suspend the trials of the president and vice-president of Kenya at the International Criminal Court.

A resolution had been proposed by members of the African Union to suspend the trial of President Uhuru Kenyatta and vice-president William Ruto for a year.

But eight of the 15 council members abstained on Friday and the motion did not pass.

Both men face charges over events after a disputed election in 2007, which left about 1200 people dead.

The resolution was proposed by Rwanda and seven members of the Security Council voted in favour.

However, the BBC reports nine votes were needed for the resolution to be successful.

African leaders complain that the ICC unfairly targets them. President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan is also facing an ICC case.