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Monday, January 12, 2009

Sudan intelligence official warns 'unruly' types might attack Westerners if Bashir arrested

CAIRO — Sudan's top security official said Westerners could come under attack if an international court were to order the arrest of the nation's president.

[Meanwhile, the Sudanese military has renewed bombing of rebel positions in the war-torn province of Darfour.]

Sudanese National Security director Brig. Gen. Salah Gosh said foreigners could be harmed should the International Criminal Court issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Bashir. Gosh, a leading member of Sudan's intelligence community, termed the would-be attackers "outlaws," but indicated that they might come from Islamic insurgency groups.

"The reactions of unruly persons, who may target foreigners, remain unpredictable," Gosh said.

In a briefing to senior Sudanese editors on Jan. 10, Gosh said Sudanese security has sought to stop any attack on foreigners. He said intelligence officers were meeting with unidentified militant groups in an effort to prevent violence.

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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.



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