Government planes were bombing Darfur even as the Sudanese President toured the war-torn desert region on a mission of peace, sources in a former rebel movement said yesterday.

A commander with a government-allied faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement said that three people died when a village was attacked in North Darfur on Wednesday.

At about the same time, President al-Bashir was playing the role of peacemaker, addressing 10,000 people in El Fasher, the regional capital. He promised understanding and investment.

Mr al-Bashir faces an arrest warrant after the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor in The Hague outlined the case against him last week over charges of genocide, murder and crimes against humanity. His two-day trip to Darfur this week was designed to help to cement a coalition of allies who have promised to support Sudan at the United Nations. “We want to send this message to the world: we are the people of peace, we want peace . . . we are the only ones who can achieve peace in Darfur,” he said during the tour.

Yesterday, Mohamed Dirbeen, military spokesman of the Sudan Liberation Movement, which joined the Government in a 2006 peace agreement, said: “Government planes were bombing the village Karbala 40km south of El Fasher. The bombing killed three people and injured eight.”

Officials with the joint United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission said that an assessment team had so far been unable to reach the area because of recent rains but would try again today.

In the past fortnight bombing has been reported in the Jebel Moon area of West Darfur – a stronghold of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – and in rebel-held areas of South Darfur. Russian-built MiGs as well as lumbering Antonovs have been involved.

Two months ago JEM fighters came close to storming Khartoum after a surprise assault on Omdurman, the city facing the capital across the Nile.

UN reports seen by The Times suggest that a convoy of 120 JEM vehicles recently left their safe haven in Chad for Darfur. The bombing is seen as an attempt to prevent a follow-up attack on the capital.

No one was available from the Sudanese Armed Forces to confirm or deny the recent attacks. A spokesman for the joint peacekeeping mission said that it had received reports of daily bombing during the past week, but could not confirm the Karbala incident. “We do not have forces in those areas,” said George Ola-Davies.

Wednesday’s reported bombing raid will confirm the sceptics’ view that President al-Bashir’s trip was nothing more that a publicity stunt by a man who is trying to evade arrest for his role in the Darfur violence. Judges with the ICC are presently deciding whether he should face ten charges of war crimes.

Mr al-Bashir travelled with heavy security to Darfur. His convoy was guarded by “technicals” – pickups fitted with heavy machineguns – while helicopter gunships circled overhead. Several hundred cars, pickups and buses crammed with officials, diplomats and journalists, followed in tow. Snipers watched proceedings from roofs at each of his rallies.

Supporters were treated to the sight of their President dancing a jig as a Sudanese pop song blasted from loud-speakers before he dismissed the ICC allegations. “We don’t need lessons from anyone. We don’t need to be told how to behave. Peace is the responsibility of Darfuris,” he said during his final stop.

He stayed well away from the sprawling aid camps where rebels command overwhelming support. Instead he met representatives of displaced people in private meetings described as tense and angry by officials inside. Outside children sang songs and waved flags as the President passed in a heavily armed motorcade.

An aid worker in Darfur reported that the scenes of celebration were carefully stage-managed. Too Huge World, a blogger who posts anonymously for fear of reprisals from El Fasher, said that people were being paid $25-$50 to attend the rallies.

“Bashir’s lackeys are sending buses and trucks to pick up people from all the surrounding villages,” he said.

The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people have died since rebels took up arms against the Government in 2003. Four million people are entirely reliant on aid agencies for food, medicine or other essentials.

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