Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir ( Photo: Reuters)
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday said he is healthy and warned Israel will suffer a "painful" response after Khartoum accused it of bombing a military factory, official radio reported.
Bashir's comments came after his second minor surgery in less than four months.
"I am in good health and our reaction to Israel will be painful," Radio Omdurman quoted the 68-year-old president as saying, in a brief report sent by SMS.
The comment about Israel was his first since Khartoum accused the Jewish state of sending four radar-evading aircraft to strike a military factory in the heart of the capital Khartoum at midnight on October 23.
Israel refused all comment on Khartoum's accusation.
But Israeli officials have expressed concern about arms smuggling through Sudan and have long accused Khartoum of serving as a base of support for militants of the Islamist Hamas movement which rules Gaza.
The president, known for his fiery public speeches, has been relatively quiet in recent weeks, making his fewer orations more restrained.
Bashir left hospital in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and was recovering in the Saudi kingdom after a "successful small surgery". The operation followed a normal medical check connected to an infection in his vocal cords, official media reported.
His press secretary in late October denied rumours that Bashir was sick and said he underwent minor surgery during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which was observed from mid-July to mid-August.
Bashir seized power in a 1989 military coup which overthrew a democratically elected government and established an Islamist regime.
He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Sudan's far-western Darfur region where a rebellion began in 2003.
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