Istanbul - Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur, has cancelled a scheduled visit to Turkey, Turkish media reported Sunday. Al-Bashir had intended to attend an economic summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), but did not appear in Istanbul as planned on Sunday.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended al-Bashir, who was indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Western Sudanese region of Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed in clashes between rebels and Arab militias since 2003.
"A Muslim cannot commit genocide," said Erdogan.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Abdullah Gul insisted that al-Bashir had not been invited for talks with the Turkish government but by the OIC.
However, he rejected calls by human rights organizations to arrest al-Bashir and refused Friday's demand by Human Rights Watch (HRW) to declare that al-Bashir was not welcome in Turkey.
Al-Bashir is the first active head of state wanted under an international arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
