Sudan says Bashir plane returned to Iran after flying over Turkmenistan Article Comments (6) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 27, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese foreign ministry issued a statement on Monday morning confirming that the plane carrying president Omer Hassan al-Bashir returned to Iran as he was heading to China for a state visit. Sudanese resident Omer Hassan al-Bashir Bashir arrival in Beijing was delayed for unknown reasons and sources told Sudan Tribune earlier that he had to circle back to Tehran where he was attending a conference on combating terrorism. Sources said that the route was deemed risky and therefore they decided to return to Tehran. "The plane of Field Marshal Omer al-Bashir President of the Republic to the Chinese capital Beijing, which had been scheduled for yesterday evening was delayed because of an amendment that took place on the route of the presidential plane over the territory of Turkmenistan at a time that it was no longer possible to pass through the new path forcing the pilot to return to Iran after flying over the territory of Turkmenistan at 9:30 yesterday evening Iran local time" said the statement. The ministry said they expect Bashir to arrive in Beijing later today after assigning a new route to the presidential plane. It is not clear why the plane could not continue on to Beijing or what path it was taking. On Monday Chinese foreign ministry staff told Agence France Presse (AFP) that Bashir’s plane had been "delayed." Eleven hours after his scheduled arrival they said they still had no updated information on when Bashir would land. The Sudanese ambassador was reportedly in the airport to receive Bashir but returned after the president failed to show up. Bashir, who faces indictment from the International Criminal Court over war crimes, had been due to arrive in Beijing for talks that will focus on Sudan’s impending split into two countries. "This afternoon’s activities have been cancelled," a ministry staff member said, referring to a scheduled late afternoon meeting with the Chinese leade Hu Jintao. Bashir left the Iranian capital on Sunday heading to China after participating in a conference on combating terrorism. His invite by Beijing has outraged human right groups who wanted China to withdraw the invitation or arrest him. But China said that it was "reasonable" to invite Bashir and noted it was not an ICC member even though it was the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) referred the situation in Darfur to the Hague tribunal. Bashir was due to stay in China — a key supporter of the regime in Khartoum — until Thursday. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
