Sudan expels aid agencies

Sudan's President told thousands of cheering supporters yesterday an international call for his arrest on war crimes charges was a colonialist ploy and announced the expulsion of 10 foreign aid agencies.

The arrest warrant issued for Omar Hassan al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court on Wednesday for atrocities in Sudan's western Darfur region is the first against a sitting head of state by the Hague-based court.

Mr Bashir said the ICC was a tool of imperialists targeting Sudan for its oil, natural gas and other resources.

"We have refused to kneel to colonialism, that is why Sudan has been targeted... because we only kneel to God," he told a crowd outside the Republican Palace.

Cheers of "We are ready to protect religion!" and "Down, down USA!" interrupted his speech from thousands of protesters. Washington has welcomed the ICC warrant. Some in the crowd carried banners branding the court's prosecutor a criminal and Mr Bashir, 65, danced along to nationalist songs. He earlier accused the aid agencies of breaking the law and said the government would tackle any attack on stability. The ICC has no powers of arrest and relies on national police forces to hand suspects over.

"We will deal responsibly and decisively with anybody who tries to target the stability and security of the country," Mr Bashir told a meeting of top politicians yesterday.

"We have expelled 10 foreign organisations... after monitoring activities that act in contradiction to all regulation and laws," he said.

Hassabo Mohamed Abd el-Rahman, head of the government's Humanitarian Aid Commission, said some groups had "passed evidence to the ICC" and made false reports of genocide and rape. He said many agencies were being investigated.

An aid official said later the government was set to expel three more aid agencies, bringing the total number to 13.

"We fear there could be more," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

China, a major investor in Sudan's oil which has sent peacekeepers to Darfur, urged the UN Security Council yesterday to heed calls from African and Arab countries and suspend the case against Mr Bashir.

The ICC, set up in 2002, indicted Mr Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which included murder, rape and torture. The three-judge panel said it had insufficient grounds for genocide.

Sudan revoked the licences of several foreign aid agencies hours after the warrant was issued.