10 seconds ago 2009-12-09T08:50:04-08:00
KHARTOUM (AFP) – Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir, who faces an international arrest warrant, has called off a planned visit to Turkey to join key political negotiations in Khartoum, official SUNA news agency said Sunday.
Beshir, a participant in the China-Africa summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, rang Turkish President Abdullah Gul to say he can not attend a meeting on Monday of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Istanbul, SUNA said.
The cancellation came amid mounting speculation over Beshir's attendance at the economic summit of the Islamic grouping after the European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, told the Ankara government it should bar or arrest him.
Sudan's leader is the subject of an international arrest warrant after being the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
