Sudan President denied Saudi fly-over en route to Iran

A charter aircraft carrying Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir and a delegation of Ministers to Iranian capital Tehran to attend Sunday’s inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, has been denied over-flight rights by Saudi Arabian authorities and forced to return to Khartoum. Reports confirmed by multiple news agencies, as well as the Sudanese government, state that the Saudi-registered aircraft with a non-Sudanese crew circled on the periphery of Saudi airspace for an hour on Saturday while attempting to negotiate over-flight clearance. While the aircraft had obtained prior authorisation, this was reportedly withdrawn when the pilots announced that Al Bashir was on board. Sudan’s presidential press secretary, Emad Sayed Ahmed, told Agence France Presse (AFP): “The Saudi authorities refused to give the plane carrying President Al Bashir permission to cross their airspace.” Ahmed said that when Al Bashir’s plane entered Saudi airspace the pilot informed authorities that it had approval and that it was carrying Sudan’s leader. The plane circled inside Saudi airspace for an hour seeking to negotiate approval but to no avail. Al Bashir’s delegation included Minister for the Presidency, Gen Bakri Hassan Saleh, Foreign Minister Ali Karti, Minister of Agriculture Dr Abdel Halim Al Mutahafi, Investment Minister Dr Mustapha Ismail Ziralastosmar, and intelligence director Mohamed Atta. The occurrence follows shortly after Al Bashir’s hasty return to Khartoum after withdrawing early from an African Union (AU) health summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja last month. During his visit, the International Criminal Court (ICC) called for his immediate arrest. President Al Bashir, indicted by the ICC on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, is subject to international arrest warrants. Saudi Arabia, however, is not party to the ICC statute. In June 2011, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan refused over-flight permission for Al Bashir, who was embarking on a state visit. Saudi Arabia has voiced concerns about Sudan’s close ties with Iran, especially when Sudan twice allowed Iranian warships to dock in Port Sudan last year, which drew concern from the USA and its allies in the Gulf. In an editorial last November entitled The fall of masks between Iran and Sudan, the Saudi pro-government Al Riyadh newspaper criticised Khartoum over allowing entry to the Iranian warships, saying there is no “logical justification” for a relationship between the two countries. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi was quoted by the ISNA news agency as calling the latest Saudi move barring Al Bashir from their airspace as “very unfortunate”, adding that “Tehran is investigating”. Chopper makes emergency landing In a separate aviation-related incident, a helicopter had to make an emergency landing in South Darfur on Saturday. Minni Minawi, leader the Sudan Liberation Movement – Minni Minawi (SLM-MM) faction, which is aligned to the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), told Radio Dabanga that a technical fault forced the helicopter to set down in “a part of South Darfur controlled by the movement”. Minawi said that the aircraft, with its crew of three, which include a Sudanese national and two Ukrainians, is operated of the Gulf Cooperation Committee (GCC) Helicopter Safety Team and “working with Unamid”. He said that the movement is currently in contact with the company and that “the aircraft and crew will be released immediately following the investigation”. File Photo: Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir (Flickr/Ammar Abd Rabbo) Related: Sudan’s President Al Bashir leaves AU health summit early as ICC calls for his arrest (16 July 2013)ICC prosecutor reproaches UN for ‘inaction and paralysis’ on Darfur (5 June 2013)HRW urges Chad to arrest Sudan President Bashir (10 May 2013)