Sudan's Bashir vows "painful response" to alleged Israel bombing
Thu Nov 8, 2012 7:34pm GMT
* Bashir's first televised appearance since surgery
* Israel has not commented on arms factory explosion (Adds details and
quotes from televised speech)
KHARTOUM Nov 8 (Reuters) - President Omar Hassan al-Bashir promised on
Thursday that Sudan would respond robustly to what he believes was an
Israeli bombing of a Khartoum arms factory.
Bashir, in a speech from the Sudanese embassy in Saudi Arabia broadcast on
Sudan's Blue Nile TV, also said he was in "perfect health" after undergoing
surgery in the Gulf kingdom.
Sudan last month accused Israel of carrying out an air strike on the Yarmouk
weapons plant in the south of Khartoum, causing a blast that killed four
people.
Israel has not commented. It has long accused Sudan of channelling weapons
from Iran to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, a small Palestinian territory
it has under blockade.
"Israel will remain the number one enemy, and we will not call them anything
except the Zionist enemy," Bashir said in his speech, shown in footage dated
Thursday and his first appearance since undergoing surgery.
Bashir also lamented what he described as Israel's superior, radar-evading
aircraft technology, but ruled out normalising relations with the Jewish
state.
In a brief text message sent to mobile phones, state radio earlier quoted
Bashir as saying he was in "perfect health" and that the response to Israel
would be "painful".
Bashir, who came to power in a bloodless 1989 coup, left hospital in Saudi
Arabia on Wednesday after undergoing a "small, successful" operation, state
media said.
Sudanese blogs and newspapers had begun to speculate about Bashir's health
because he has held fewer public rallies in the past few months. He
underwent surgery on his vocal cords in Qatar in August, an official said
last month.
In the televised speech, Bashir said his surgery and the related medical
examinations had taken only 24 hours.
Over 23 years in power, Bashir has weathered multiple armed rebellions,
years of U.S. trade sanctions, an arrest warrant from the International
Criminal Court, waves of student protests and the secession of oil-producing
South Sudan last year.
He is known for his fiery speeches and for dancing and waving his walking
stick at public events. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Alexander
Dziadosz; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
