Bashir to attend Cen-Sad summit in Libya

May 28, 2009 by AFP (Tripoli) - excerpt:
Beshir to attend regional African summit in Libya

Sudan's President President Omar al-Beshir, who is facing an international arrest warrant, is to attend a summit of African leaders at the weekend in Libya, a Libyan official said on Thursday.

The two-day summit of the 28-member Community of Sahel-Saharan States (Cen-Sad) opens on Friday in the Libyan city of Sabratha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site west of Tripoli.

"President Beshir will attend the summit. He is always welcome," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"Libya does not recognise the decision taken by the International Criminal Court (ICC)," which issued the arrest warrant for Beshir in March on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, he said.

Beshir's visit will be the second to Libya and the seventh one outside Sudan since the court called for his arrest.

The 11th Cen-Sad summit is due to discuss several issues, namely the conflict between Sudan and neighbouring Chad, according to a copy of a draft agenda obtained by AFP.

Peace between Chad and Sudan is regarded as essential to any lasting settlement to the six-year-old conflict in Darfur. [...]

Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa has said that the leaders of all the 28 Cen-Sad member countries will be present for the summit which will also discuss the African Union and the situation in several African countries.

Censad, whose headquarters are in Tripoli, describes itself as the biggest economic grouping in Africa.

The organisation groups Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.