A leader in the People's New Black Panther Party is urging the creation of a new country within in the U.S.

Babu Omowale, the national minister of defense for the People's New Black Panther Party, told radio host Aaron Klein his group and others are working to establish a government in a nation within a nation. The five states that would make up the new nation would be Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.

"We just need to start migrating back to those states and taking control of the economics in those states. If black people move in, most definitely white people will move out. So it's not a hard process for us to have our own country within a country," Omowale told Klein. The comments were first reported on Breitbart News, a conservative website.

Omowale later elaborated saying the short-term steps would be to work to control economies and politics in each of the areas.

Omowale's comments came amid growing tensions over the police-involved shootings of two black men followed by the slaying of five Dallas policeman last week.

Omowale is co-founder of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, named for the founder of the Black Panther Party. Dallas shooter Micah Johnson had attended some of the club's events, Omowale confirmed, and followed the guorp of Facebook.

He also addressed Johnson's sniper attack.

"We don't condone it, we don't support it, but we understand it," Omowale told Reuters.

The party itself has distanced itself from Johnson.

"Mr. Micah Xaiver Johnson, was not a member of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense," the organization said.

"What we do know is that It has been stated by a few right-wing websites, that that Mr Johnson, allegedly liked a few social media pages, and since then, the media has been grabbing for straws, reaching for any kind of connection it could produce to make a fictitious connection to the New Black Panther Party, or other black groups whose primary mission is to advocate for Black Power," it added.