Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir held talks in Cairo today with Egypt's president in defiance of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Darfur.
Bashir, on his second trip abroad since the Hague-based court issued the warrant on March 4th, discussed developments surrounding the ICC ruling with Hosni Mubarak before leaving Egypt.
Bashir risks arrest when he leaves Sudan because of the ICC warrant, but neighbouring Egypt had not been expected to take any action against him. Cairo has close ties with Khartoum and has called on the UN Security Council to suspend the warrant.
"This visit came as a result of an invitation by the Egyptian government to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir," Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor told a news conference after the talks at Egypt's presidential palace.
Mr Alor said the discussions had focused on the effects of the ICC move, and on the humanitarian situation in Darfur after Sudan's expulsion of a number of foreign aid agencies there.
International experts say at least 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2.7 million driven from their homes in almost six years of ethnic and political fighting in Darfur in western Sudan. Khartoum says 10,000 people have died.
The Darfur conflict flared when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the government, demanding better representation and accusing it of neglecting the development of the region.
A spokesman for Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement, said Egypt's hosting Bashir was "in violation of international law and [UN] Security Council resolutions".
Reuters