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Al-Bashir jets off

KHARTOUM - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will visit Turkey next week for the first time since an international court asked for his arrest, government sources said, in a test of Ankara's support for international justice.

KHARTOUM - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will visit Turkey next week for the first time since an international court asked for his arrest, government sources said, in a test of Ankara's support for international justice.

Predominantly Muslim Turkey has not ratified the 2002 Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court, but it is under pressure to do so to bring it closer to EU standards.

Rights groups say Turkey, anxious to secure entry into the EU, is obliged to arrest Bashir when he lands in Istanbul for a summit of Islamic nations. A source said: "The decision has been taken. Unless there are last-minute changes, he is going." - Reuters

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