al-Bashir withdraws from Islamic summit

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir decided not to take up an invitation from Saudi Arabia to attend an Islamic summit at which US President Donald Trump was the guest of honour. Bashir, who cited ‘private reasons’, is wanted for alleged war crimes in Darfur and the US was reportedly unhappy about his attendance. BBC News reports that Sudan had said it was looking forward to improving US ties at the event. A statement from Bashir's office said the President had apologised to King Salman of Saudi Arabia for being unable to attend the Riyadh summit. No further explanation was given. Al-Bashir is wanted for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity related to the conflict in Darfur, which has claimed at least 300 000 lives. Meanwhile, a report on the News24 site notes that Trump yesterday (Sunday) said he would visit Egypt soon. He held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the Saudi capital. ‘We will absolutely be putting that on the list very soon,’ Trump said at the beginning of bilateral talks with Sisi.