Omar Al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, has said there is no humanitarian crisis in Darfur and that less than 9,000 people had been killed there during the four years of conflict.

He disputed the findings of latest reports on the situation in the region, rejected talk of genocide and said violence stemmed from tribal tensions and drought.

A UN report published on Monday described the humanitarian situation in Darfur as the worst in two years.

Al-Bashir said via a video media conference on Monday: "The figure of 200,000 dead is false and the number of dead is not even 9,000.

"All the figures have been falsified and the child mortality rate in Darfur does not exceed that in Khartoum."

He accused Western countries of inflating statistics to justify a military intervention.

The Sudanese president rejected efforts to replace the African Union observers currently deployed in Darfur, accusing the West of seeking to invade his country and plunder its resources.

During the press conference, al-Bashir insisted that the unrest in Darfur was the result of tribal clashes prompted by drought and had been politically exploited by foreign countries such as Chad.

Meanwhile, Sudanese media reported on Tuesday that 32 civilians were killed in two attacks in the west of the country.

There was no official confirmation of the death toll carried by the Sudanese Media Centre, an online information outlet affiliated to the government.

One of the attacks was carried out outside the boundaries of Darfur, in West Kordofan state, drawing accusations from the government and local leaders that rebel groups were seeking to widen the conflict.

PHOTO CAPTION

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir speaks at a news conference at the summit of Non-Aligned nations in Havana September 16, 2006. (Reuters)