Sudanese
President To Miss OIC Summit
Sudan’s
President Omar al-Bashir has pulled out of a summit of the
Organisation of Islamic Conference, scheduled for Istanbul,
Turkey.
The Turkish
government had previously welcomed the attendance of President
Bashir, indicted by the International Criminal Court, at the
meeting and said he would not be arrested.
The EU, which
Turkey hopes to join, had wanted the invitation to be withdrawn.
Turkey, which is
seeking EU membership, had come under pressure from Brussels to
drop Mr. Bashir from the guest list.
Sudan's
state-run SUNA news agency said "new developments" had
required Mr. Bashir's presence in Sudan.
Mr. Bashir was
due in Istanbul on Monday, for the summit of the Organisation of
Islamic Conference (OIC) but the news agency said he was
returning to Khartoum to "find a solution" to a dispute
between his ruling National Congress Party and the Sudan
People's Liberation Movement.
Mr. Bashir has
visited several African countries since the ICC issued the
warrant for his arrest in March, saying he was responsible for
atrocities in Darfur.
He has denied
the accusations.
BBC/Yinka
