U.S. aide: Arab League should scorn Bashir

WASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- Sudan's president, attending an Arab League summit in Qatar, should receive international scorn for what is happening in Darfur, a U.S. spokesman said Monday.

Asked about the good treatment President Omar Hassan Bashir received when he arrived at the meeting in Doha, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said he hoped attendees "would focus on the immediate and urgent needs" of the Sudanese and "address the grave humanitarian situation in Darfur ... ."

When addressing Arab leaders at the annual summit, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called for support for the Sudanese president, who has a warrant out for his arrest by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges. Qatar does not recognize the ICC.

"The presence of President Bashir at this conference should be used as an opportunity to bring forth the international opprobrium to what is happening in Darfur and in south Sudan," Duguid said.