LONDON (AFP) — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir rejected the allegations of war crimes against him as "made up" and said mass rape "does not exist" in Darfur, in an interview broadcast here Thursday.
Beshir, who is accused by the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor of genocide and crimes against humanity in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, told Channel Four News the sources for the claims were "all hostile."
"These allegations are not correct. Everything is fabricated and made up. Anything saying that we ordered killing people is untrue," he said, according to a translation provided by the programme.
"The sources used by the ICC prosecutor are all hostile; they are from the rebels who revolted against the state."
Beshir also denied reports of mass rape in displaced persons camps.
"The women inside the camps are under the influence of the rebels and some are even relatives of the rebels. That's why they make these claims," he said.
Beshir said there may be individual instances of rape in Darfur, but this happened all over the world. "Mass rape does not exist," he said.
"These are all false allegations. It's not in the culture of the Darfurians. The Darfurian society does not have rape. It's not in their tradition."
In July, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC for an arrest warrant for Beshir on 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
He claimed the president had "personally instructed" his forces to wipe out three ethnic groups in Darfur, where conflict has been raging since 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime.
If charges are brought, it would be the first time the ICC has indicted a sitting head of state since it started operating in 2002.
Despite the threat of legal action hanging over him, Beshir said he would stand for re-election next year and let the public decide his fate.
"The referee is the Sudanese people. They should decide if we are really criminals, or if we are leaders of the people who should govern them in the future," he said.
"I issue a challenge: if I get less than 50 percent of the people's votes in Darfur then truly I don't deserve to lead the country."
The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease and more than 2.2 million fled their homes. Sudan puts the death toll at 10,000.
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