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KHARTOUM. — Sudan slammed yesterday the US state department for rejecting to issue a visa for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On Monday, the US state department said it received a visa application for al-Bashir to attend the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, noting that al-Bashir should not make such a trip because he is accused of war crimes.
The visit of the president would be to the UN headquarters and not to the United States itself which does not have any legal right to object to the participation of any official from any country enjoying full membership of the international organisation in the UN activities, the Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement on yesterday.

The statement, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua, said the United States had committed war crimes and genocide, including invasion of Iraq in 2003 that left over one million people dead.

The ministry reiterated Sudan’s adherence to its full right in participating, at the highest levels, at the meetings of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, urging the United States to fulfill its duties and issue the necessary entry visa as soon as possible.

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 the government in Khartoum. — AFP.