Plans to arrest Sudan president Omar Hassan al-Bashir over war crimes have been condemned by the country's ambassador to the UN.

Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad said the charges against the president would be a "criminal move".

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor is expected to submit evidence against Mr Bashir on Monday.

It would mark the first time that the UN war crimes tribunal, which sits in The Hague, has charged a sitting head of state with such crimes.

But Mr Mohamed said his government was "considering various options in dealing with this situation and the limit is the sky for any reaction by the government".

"It is a criminal move," he said. "A criminal move that should be resisted by all peace wishers and peace loving countries in the world."

UN officials and diplomats said they expected lesser charges of crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur to be brought against Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha.

The court's prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina has accused the Sudanese government of sponsoring the janjaweed militias who have unleashed a reign of terror on the country's Darfur region.

He said the probe relied on investigators based in neighbouring Chad and more than 100 witnesses in 18 countries.

However, charities fear a backlash over the move while Sudan has said it could undermine the peace process there. The investigation could also embarrass China, Sudan's close ally, just weeks before the start of the Beijing Olympics.

Last year, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Sudanese government minister Ahmad Harun and militia commander Ali Kushayb but the country has refused to hand them over, saying its own courts can handle any war criminals.

At least 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million displaced in the region since the conflict began in early 2003. Sudan's government says 10,000 people have been killed.

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