The Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday said in Fashir, capital city of North Darfur state, that the country will fight against "neocolonialism."

"We will fight against the neocolonialism," al-Bashir made the remarks while addressing a rally attended by tens of thousands of local residents on a square at the city center, referring to the International Criminal Court's(ICC) campaign that has dogged the president since last July.

"We will not allow anyone to undermine the peace, independence and unity of Sudan," the president continued, saying that "We have liberated the Africa, but the Western colonialists want to return to Sudan at the moment."

He also reiterated that Sudan rejects the ICC's arrest warrant because the country is not a member of the Rome Statute on which the court is based.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant against Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country's restive western region of Darfur between 2003 and 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2009)