Western diplomatic sources said
the Bashir regime appears to have launched a staged reaction to the arrest
warrant of the president on charges of war crimes linked to the civil war in
Darfour.
Diplomatic sources said Bashir could also trigger unrest in neighboring
African countries thought to be cooperating with ICC. Already, Hamas,
Hizbullah and other major Islamic insurgency movements were said to have been invited to
bolster the Bashir regime.
The sources said several embassies were preparing for the
possibility that Bashir would order the expulsion of
diplomats from the European Union and the United States.
"We have seen the opening shot, and if Bashir continues to feel
threatened, he will order much harsher measures," a diplomatic source said.
Western embassies have already been preparing for an emergency
evacuation. On March 10, the U.S. embassy in Khartoum allowed non-essential
staff to leave Sudan immediately.
"We will expel anyone who goes against Sudanese law, whether they are
voluntary organizations, diplomatic missions or security forces," Bashir
said.
Sudan's parliament has joined the protest against ICC. Deputies warn
that Khartoum would declare war on any country that cooperates with ICC in
trying to arrest Bashir.
On March 9, four peace-keepers with the joint United Nations-African
Union force were injured in an ambush in Darfour. This marked the first
attack on international peace-keepers since the ICC warrant.
The Bashir regime has also released Islamic opposition leader Hassan
Turabi. In January 2009, the 76-year-old Turabi, for decades a political
ally of Bashir and a sponsor of Al Qaida and other insurgency groups in
Sudan, called on the president to surrender to ICC.
"Egypt, in particular, has been alarmed by the possibility that Sudan
could again be plunged into civil war," the diplomatic source said.
