ICC was expected to decide on whether to order the arrest of Bashir on
charges of genocide in January. Bashir has been accused of ordering the
military attacks that killed up to 200,000 people in the western province of
Darfour since 2003.
Western embassies as well as the United Nations have been on alert for
an attack in either Khartoum or Darfour. Diplomats have described rising
hostility toward Westerners in Khartoum.
In his briefing, Gosh, who acknowledged intelligence cooperation with
the United States, said Al Qaida was not operating in Sudan. But he reported
the presence of whom he termed extremists.
"Al Qaida is not an organization," Gosh said. "It is a kind of concept.
Ideas are not defeated by guns, rather by other ideas."
The Khartoum regime has also warned that Darfour rebel groups were
planning an offensive. Officials said the rebels were preparing to strike
Sudanese cities and oil fields over the next few weeks.
"All options are open," Gosh said. "We cannot predict what will happen,
but we will work to secure the country."
Rebel groups said the Sudanese Air Force has sent Russian-origin fixed-
and rotary-wing aircraft to attack positions of the Justice and Equality
Movement in Darfour. JEM said the air force deployed An-24 air transports
and Mi-24 attack helicopters.
"There is bombing going on right now," JEM commander Suleiman Sandal
said on Jan. 8.
JEM said the military strikes targeted rebels throughout northern
Darfour, including Kutum, Malit and Um Sidr. Sandal said the targets
included rebel forces that were moving through the province.
The air strikes were the first in about a month in Darfour. In December
2008, Western diplomats reported a lull in fighting in the western province.
The Khartoum regime has warned that JEM and other rebel groups were
planning an offensive. The offensive was meant to be timed with a ruling by
the International Criminal Court on whether to issue an arrest warrant for
Sudanese President Omar Bashir on charges of genocide in Darfour.
Officials said JEM was moving its forces from Darfour in preparation of
an attack on several Sudanese cities and oil fields. They said the plan
marked the second attempt in less than a year to attack Khartoum.