Sudan Prez: No Crimes in Darfur

Says media claims are part of propaganda campaign
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted May 12, 2009 2:47 PM CDT
Sudan Prez: No Crimes in Darfur
Supporters of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir chant slogans during his visit to the western Darfur town of Zalengi, Sudan, Tuesday, April 7, 2009.    (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)

Sudan’s president says his military hasn’t attacked civilians in Darfur and challenges “anybody” to show evidence to the contrary. “What has been reported to have happened in Darfur did not actually happen at all,” Omar al Bashir told the BBC in his first interview since being charged with war crimes. “What happened in Darfur was an insurgency. The state has the responsibility to fight the rebels.”

“We have never fought against our citizens, we have not killed our citizens,” the president said. “Any talk about crimes committed inside Darfur is a hostile and organized media propaganda to tarnish the reputation of the government and is a part of the declared war against our government.” The war crimes charges are based in a Western, neo-colonial bid to conquer Sudan, he said.
(More Sudan stories.)

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