With the controversial indictment of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, earlier this week, the International Criminal Court is putting its reputation on the line. The court has taken years to assemble its case against Bashir, in large part because it is by design a passive institution: it can neither conduct its own investigations, nor make arrests. Perhaps more significantly, international reaction to the move is divided, with Russia and China complaining that it violates Sudan’s sovereignty and NGOs worrying that the charges will endanger peacekeepers and aid workers in the country.

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Killings, kidnappings and the threat of famine are turning the Horn of Africa into the most dangerous and deadly spot on earth.

Already plagued by drought, food shortages and massive malnutrition, Ethiopia and Somalia are now facing a potentially catastrophic humanitarian crisis, say international aid workers.