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SUDANESE President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said today that an African peacekeeping force in Darfur had become a security burden and should leave.
Mr Bashir's comments escalated a row that had already led to the closure of a joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (Unamid) office in Khartoum.
The Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 when mainly African tribes took up arms against the Arab-led government in Khartoum.
Unamid has been deployed in Darfur since 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in a war that has seen the International Criminal Court issue a warrant for Mr Bashir's arrest on charges of war crimes and genocide.
Sudan said last week it had shut the Unamid human rights office in Khartoum amid tension over allegations of mass rape by Sudanese troops in a remote Darfur village.
Just days earlier, Sudan had said it asked the peacekeeping force to prepare an exit plan.
And yesterday Mr Bashir himself weighed in, raising the pressure on Unamid.
"The Unamid forces have become a security burden for us more than a support and they are incapable of defending themselves.
"These forces came to protect the rebellion and not the citizen," claimed Mr Bashir.
"We now need a clear programme for the exit of Unamid forces."
Unamid has confirmed an assessment will be ready by the end of February.
Security council diplomats warned earlier this month that Khartoum had never wanted a peacekeeping mission on its soil.
