Sudan’s al-Bashir travels to Turkey for Islamic summit

May 18, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir on Friday travelled to Istanbul to participate in the extraordinary summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on Jerusalem.

Turkey decided to call the OIC to an extraordinary meeting on 18 May to discuss the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the killing of dozens of Palestinian protestors.

Al-Bashir was seen off at Khartoum Airport by the First Vice-President Bakri Hassan Salih and a number of ministers.

Founded in 1969, the OIC comprises 57 member states representing over 1.6 billion Muslim. Its purpose is to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony”.

Al-Bashir is under two International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants since 2008 for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Darfur.

Turkey is not a state party to the tribunal of war crimes but has the obligation as a member of the United Nations to cooperate with the court.

(ST)