Leaders from eight African countries Nigeria, Sudan, Eritrea, Egypt, Chad, Central African Republic, Libya and Gabon, will meet in Libya Jan. 4 for a special African Union mini-summit on Darfur crisis and growing tensions between Sudan and Chad, officials said Friday.
Note, the mini summit comes three weeks before the African Union holds its annual summit involving all 53 members in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
Sudan's President Omar el-Bashir hopes to become the next chairman of the African Union during the summit. That will only be decided after a vote by members of the bloc.
Surely, the AU's 53-member states won't vote for the world's worst dictator to preside over them as chairman? Surely, ordinary African and Arab folk will be outraged? If not, why - can anyone please explain?
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Sudan's President Omar Bashir named as world's worst living dictator
Pictured below is the Republican Palace in Khartoum, where Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir lives.
Photo: His Excellency General Omar al- Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan [click photo for details]
Last year, President al-Bashir ranked a mere seventh among the 10 worst dictators but this year's list- published ten months ago when Darfur death toll was reported at 70,000 - has him as the worst of the worst.
This week, Darfur genocide enters its 4th year with the death toll estimated at 400,000 and rising.
Despite UN resolutions and the international community imploring President al-Bashir to rein in his Janjaweed militia, he and his regime denies backing the Janjaweed. In October 2004, BBC correspondent Koert Lindijer filed a news report entitled "Reining in the militia" in which he said he saw the President five months earlier addressing a meeting of his supporters in Nyala, south Darfur, and saluting the assembled Janjaweed fighters: "Long live the Mujahideen."
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