Sudan's president continued his defiant stance Sunday against the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest on war crimes.

President Omar al-Bashir is seen here talking to supporters in Darfur. He threatened to kick out more aid groups and expel diplomats and peacekeepers during his speech. on Sunday during his first trip to the beleaguered Darfur region after an international court issued an arrest warrant against him. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) The Associated Press

Omar al-Bashir addressed a rally in Darfur, the region in western Sudan where he has been accused of ordering the rape, torture and murder of civilians. Thousands of people lined the route from the airport to the centre of El Fasher, the state capital of north Darfur, to welcome al-Bashir as he stood in full view at the back of a small truck.

Many in the crowd raised their fists in the air. Some held up posters of the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, with an X drawn over his face.

Al-Bashir used the speech to defend his government's decision to expel several aid groups last week, after the ICC formally charged him with orchestrating war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"We expelled duplicitous agencies and spies and all those who threaten the national security of our country," the president said.

He also threatened to expel any foreign peacekeeper, diplomat or aid worker who violates Sudanese law.

"I have a message to all the diplomatic missions in Sudan, the non-governmental organizations and the peacekeepers," he said.

"They have to respect the rule of the country. If anyone goes further than the rule of the country, we will kick them out directly."

Al-Bashir also said Sudan would not "submit" or "surrender" to the Netherlands-based ICC and its supporters, calling them the "real criminals."

"We will not submit to them or surrender to them and we will not hand over any Sudanese citizen to them," he said.

"They are liars and hypocrites," al-Bashir said. "That is why today from my position here in El Fasher I say to them: the International Criminal Court prosecutor, and its members and all those who support it are beneath my shoes."

On Saturday, he appeared at a rally in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, where he said 13 foreign aid organizations were expelled because they were "spies" and "thieves."

The United Nations has said the expulsions would severely impact the lives of two million people in Darfur, as nearly 40 per cent of the aid workers there were affected by the decision.

More than 300,000 people in the region have been killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes since early 2003 by fighting between tribal rebels and militiamen said to be backed by the Arab-dominated regime.