Arusha — Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir yesterday took a swipe at the United States for trying to 'dictate matters' on his country's internal affairs, and asked for a chance to broker peace in the war-torn Darfur region.

Addressing journalists Tuesday night after arriving here for the Leon Sullivan Summit, the Sudanese leader said the international community should give him a chance to put his house in order.

His remarks come just after a US special envoy to Sudan called on Khartoum to press for the restoration of security in Abyei, a contested oil-rich district on the border between north and south Sudan following recent clashes.

The US envoy, Mr Richard Williamson, said there was urgent need for humanitarian relief for an estimated 50,000 to 90,000 people reportedly displaced after recent heavy fighting in the Abyei main town early this month.

Sudan is the largest and one of the most diverse countries in Africa, home to deserts, mountain ranges, swamps and rain forests.

It emerged from a two-decade civil war between the mainly Muslim north and the Animist and Christian south, only to see fighting break out in the western region of Darfur in early 2003.

The north-south civil war is said to have cost the lives of 1.5 million people. In Darfur, the UN says more than two million people have fled their homes and more than 200,000 have been killed.

Recently, the border between Sudan and Chad was closed after rebels launched pre-emptive attacks on the capital Khartoum in an attempt to overthrow the Sudanese government.

The Sudanese President said the border would remain closed to stop rebels from entering the country from Chad. However, the West believes the Sudanese government is reluctant to solve the crisis.

But President Bashir dismissed the accusations as Western propaganda aimed to demean his administration.

He said his government was committed to finding peace with Darfur rebels in the disputed oil district in south Sudan.

"We inherited wars and internal conflicts, but the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is enough indication that we are committed to finding permanent stability in Sudan," he said.

However, he insisted that he was not opposed to peacekeeping forces from Africa.

"We only want troops from within Africa. The African Union has done a lot to mediate in the Darfur crisis. Let us give it a chance and not bringing troops from outside the continent."

The Sudanese leader had also in past criticised the US over its interventionist policies in the Middle East.

He said he was against the US invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, and its interference in Palestinian affairs.

In an apparent show of bitter relations with the US, Sudan has also refused to allow American firms to drill oil in the south, but instead favoured companies from China, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, France and Sweden.

Mr Bashir defended the decision saying the US firms had been 'too demeaning' and that their conditions 'were unacceptable.'

"Oil in Sudan belongs to the Sudanese and we have the right to determine whom to invite or not," he said.

But seemingly contradicting his apparent anti-US antics, the Sudanese leader said Africa was in dire need of investments from the US and the West in form of expertise and capital to spur economic growth.

Mr Bashir joins six other leaders who were expected here for the Heads of State segment of the Sullivan Summit.