A defiant Sudanese president called on Wednesday for Darfur rebels to lay down their arms, rallied Arab supporters Wednesday by saying no war crimes court or the UN Security Council can touch even “an eyelash” on him despite an international order for his arrest. Speaking to thousands at a rally in the southern Darfur town of Nyala, Omar Al-Beshir denounced the West for allegedly seeking to “create chaos in Sudan” and trying to split Darfur from the rest of the country. This was Al-Beshir's second visit to Darfur since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest on March 4 on charges of war crimes in the western Sudanese region. Al-Beshir rejects the charges. In a speech broadcast live on Sudan TV, Al-Beshir told the gathering the West was trying to remove him from power, but he was ready to confront any attack. “These knights on horseback now have spears, but tomorrow on the battlefield they will have machine guns,” he said, referring to the crowd. “No ICC or Security Council or any other party will change our path or touch an eyelash in our eye,” Al-Beshir shouted. Vowing to develop the Darfur region, Al-Beshir said: “We want to reunify the people of Darfur and we call on all our sons and brothers who bear arms to put them down.” “We tell them you have taken up arms to demand development and development has now started and it continues.” “Our response (to the ICC) is to bring electricity to Darfur, more buildings, schools, water, more hospitals. We want a reunification of the people of Darfur.” “The president of Sudan is not elected by Britain or America. Sudan is an independent country.” He claimed the West seeks to create chaos in Sudan similar to Iraq, where he said US forces “killed women and children, looted the country and planted sedition.” “Those criminals want to do the same in Sudan,” he said. “We will not give them the chance to sabotage our country.” Al-Beshir's expulsion of aid groups has worried Washington. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Tuesday on the Sudanese president to reverse the order or at least replace the groups with sufficient resources to address the humanitarian crisis. In a signal the Obama administration intends to step up involvement in the African country, President Barack Obama settled on retired Air Force Gen. J. Scott Gration, a close personal friend with long experience on African issues, to be special envoy to Sudan, an administration official saidMilitiaman Ahmed El-Hassan said that the rally of around 10,000 was made up of members of the pro-government popular defense forces, many on horseback and carrying lances. “Beshir is the hero of Sudan, we will defend him to the death,” a toothless old man named Mohammed said. “Darfur rebels have no control of anywhere in the region, if they come here we will fight them, they do not represent Darfur,” said another militiaman. The crowd beat and burnt an effigy of ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, who instigated Beshir's prosecution at The Hague
