Defiant Bashir visits Darfur, UN concerns for aid agency expulsions

The trip is seen as a calculated show of defiance by Bashir in the face of mounting Western criticism of his government’s expulsion of 13 aid agencies following the ICC’s announcement of the warrant on Wednesday for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the western region.

Bashir traveled from El-Fasher airport in an open vehicle to the centre of town along a route lined with several thousand cheering supporters.

In support of Bashir, the crowd shouted "Down, down Ocampo," referring to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, and "Down, down America," which has said genocide was being committed in Darfur.

The United Nations says the aid agency expulsions will leave 1.1 million people without food, 1.5 million without health care and more than a million without drinking water.

However, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Mutrif Siddiq warned that the expulsions were irreversible.

"The decision of the authorities expelling foreign organizations... is an irreversible decision," he said in a statement carried by the official SUNA news agency.

Sudan accuses the aid groups of cooperating with the ICC. The relief organizations deny any complicity.

"Evidence has proved their cooperation with the so-called International Criminal Court," Siddiq said.

U.N. agencies in Sudan have warned that the expulsion of key aid groups will have "devastating implications" and that in their absence "much of the aid operation literally comes to a halt."

The expelled organizations account for "more than half" the capacity of the aid operation in Darfur, the U.N. says.

Remaining organizations will be allowed to operate in Sudan "as long as they are committed to the laws regulating humanitarian work", Siddiq said.

The government is also preparing an "alternative plan" to fill the gap created by the expelled agencies, instead collaborating with "national and friendly foreign NGOs," according to the Sudan Media Centre, a website close to the security services.

TURKEY'S FEARS

Turkey had expressed its concern over the ICC decision and said that it aims to prevent its relations with Africa from being harmed and to protect Sudan from a possible intensification of internal clashes.

Turkey, who holds a non-permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council, is also likely to push for a delay in the implementation of the arrest warrant in the Council for 12 months, diplomatic sources have said.

The Islamist-rooted Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government faced criticism for hosting Bashir twice; first on a bilateral visit in January, and then at multilateral cooperation talks with African leaders in August.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan had said after the ICC decision that his country was concerned about the impact that the arrest warrant for Bashir could have on efforts to stabilize the conflict-torn country.