Sudanese president visits Darfur, denies genocide allegations - 2
23/07/2008 20:11 (Adds details in para 9)
CAIRO, July 23 (RIA Novosti) - Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, recently accused of genocide in the country's Darfur region, dismissed the allegations at a rally in the area on Wednesday.
In mid-July, the International Criminal Court accused Beshir of war crimes and committing genocide by instructing his troops to eliminate three non-Arab groups in the region, which has been ripped apart by a brutal conflict since 2003.
Beshir, speaking in El Fasher, the former Darfur capital, called the allegations "slander" adding, "We all know perfectly well who is behind this."
"I have arrived in Darfur to say that every refugee must return to his village and the government must provide the necessary social services," he said, addressing around 5,000 people.
He also said "international forces" were trying to break Sudan apart by aggravating the Darfur crisis.
"Every time we make a step forward to peace they try to interfere using different deceitful pretexts," he said.
The trip to Darfur by the Sudanese leader is the first step in an Arab peace plan for the region. The plan was drafted at a recent emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab League nations.
The plan also stipulates talks with rebel groups' leaders and reaching an agreement to stop the violence. The Sudanese authorities are also to try all those responsible for war and humanitarian crimes in Darfur.
The Arab League said in a statement on Wednesday that, "Sudan will create special tribunals to consider crimes related to the situation in Darfur," and that a special prosecutor would be appointed. The trials are to be held after a reform of the Sudanese judiciary designed to bring it in line with international law.
The Arab League promised that in return it would try to convince the international community to drop the genocide allegations against Beshir and let the country independently settle the conflict.
According to UN estimates, some 300,000 people have died in the conflict in Darfur since 2003 and more than two million people have fled their homes.
The conflict erupted when African ethnic minority rebels entered into hostilities with the Arab-dominated Khartoum regime and state-backed Arab militias.
