Sudanese President to visit North Darfur on Sunday

March 7, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir will fly tomorrow to North Darfur state for the second time since his indictment by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and four days after the issuance of an arrest warrant against him by the ICC judges.

Al-Bashir, during his visit to Al-Fasher, the capital of the state, will sign a number of contracts for road construction in Al-Fashir, Zalingei and Um-Kadada.

Following his indictment by the ICC prosecutor on July 14, Al-Bashir toured the three states of Darfur in a clear sign of defiance to the court and the western countries that Sudan accuses of using the court for political purposes.

This visit comes after the expulsion of 13 aid groups operating in Darfur region. The Sudanese authorities said the expelled groups were working with the ICC on Darfur crimes. They are accused of collecting information or transporting witnesses to The Hague.

Speaking during a speech before southern Sudanese who rallied to support him in the capital on Saturday, Al-Bashir described the aid groups as “thieves”. He said they speak about 2 billion USD of aid to Darfur while the total amount of the assistance that reaches Darfur displaced is one hundred million.

During his visit of last July he didn’t visit the IDPs camps. Tomorrow visit also seems not including the camps of displaced persons. However Bashir is expected to speak also about some measures to feed the people affected by the expulsion of the NGOs.

The Sudanese authorities said the shortfall would be replaced by local aid agencies.

(ST)