DUBAI, Aug 24: The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has expressed deep concern over the situation created by Thursday's military strikes by the United States against ``terrorism-related'' sites in Afghanistan and Sudan.In a statement issued from the Organisation's headquarters in Jeddah, OIC secretary-general Azeddine Laraki reiterated its firm position condemning terrorism in all its forms and whatever its origin.
``It considers it necessary to refrain from any unilateral action outside international legality, and stresses the need for stepping up efforts to fight terrorism through legal means in accordance with the charter and resolutions of the United Nations,'' he said.
Laraki said the OIC supported the complaint lodged by Sudan with the UN Security Council and backed its demand for sending a committee of inquiry into the missile strikes at a pharmaceuticals factory in Khartoum.
US officials have said the sites chosen for Thursday's missile strikes were linked to the August 7 bombattacks against US embassies in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam, which killed 263 people, including 12 Americans, and injured about 5,000.
The US also described the factory destroyed in Khartoum as a ``chemical weapons-related facility.''
Sudan has denied that the factory was involved in the manufacture of chemical weapons.
Sudan said it would prove that the US had lied about the Khartoum factory and has called for a UN investigation into the raid which killed one person and injured seven others.
``Our first objective is to show that US President Bill Clinton and the American administration has lied,'' Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir told a press conference in Khartoum yesterday.
He also said that Sudan had the right to respond to the US attack ``through all international means.''
The 22-nation Arab League is due to meet in Cairo today at the permanent delegate level, at Sudan's request, to discuss the US strikes against Khartoum.
``The US allegations about chemical weapons have raised doubts acrossthe entire world, even in the US. We are in the midst of battle and we will win by demonstrating the truth,'' Bashir said.
``The US aggression has put international peace and security at risk as well as American interests around the world,'' he said.
Laden was tipped off: Report
Millionaire Islamic militant Osama bin Laden has admitted that the recent US missile strike in Afghanistan prevented a planned summit of Islamic extremists, according to the editor of an Arabic-language publication, quoted today in The Times.Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based Paperal-Guds al-Arabi, told The Times he had the information from one of bin Laden's spokesmen who had called him by satellite phone from a camp in Afghanistan.
``He (bin Laden's spokesman) admitted that President Clinton was correct. There was going to be a meeting at Khost (Afghanistan) last Friday. But it was cancelled because bin Laden knew a raid was being planned by the Americans. He called it off,''The Times quoted the editor as saying.
After the Cruise missiles attack on Thursday against a suspected Islamic terrorist training camp near Khost, US President Bill Clinton said the US had ``reason to believe that a gathering of key terrorist leaders was to take place there today (Thursday), thus underscoring the urgency of our actions''.
The Times said that besides bin Laden, those due to have attended the ``summit'' included the head of the Egyptian Jihad movement and leaders of several other extremist groups.
The Times said the meeting was to have taken place in Thezhawar Kili al-Badr camp near Khost.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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