Sudan summons US charge d'affairs over president's visa

Sudanese foreign ministry Friday summoned the US charge d'affairs in Khartoum to protest against the delaying of issuance of entry visa for President Omar al-Bashir and thus preventing him to attend the UN general assembly.

The Sudanese undersecretary of foreign affairs informed the US charge d'affairs that "With non-issuance of the entry visa for President al-Bashir until now, the US crippled Sudan's participation in important activities in New York that aimed to achieve peace and stability in Sudan and the region", Xinhu reported.

Last week, the US State Department said it had received the visa application of President al-Bashir, but noted he should not make such a trip because he was accused of war crimes.

In 2009, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against al-Bashir for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country's restive region of Darfur, which was rejected by Khartoum.