Arrest warrant bid for Sudan's Bashir

A warrant has been requested for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir over alleged crimes against humanity and genocide Darfur.

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said "forces and agents" under President Bashir's control had killed at least 35,000 civilians outright, and caused the "slow death" of 80,000 to 265,000 people displaced from their homes by fighting.

A court document said: "Bashir committed, through other persons, genocide against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups in Darfur, the Sudan, by using the state apparatus, the armed forces and militia/Janjaweed."

The prosecution also charged Mr Bashir with crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, extermination, forcible transfer of 2.9 million civilians, torture and rape.

It marks the first time that the UN war crimes tribunal, which sits in The Hague, has charged a sitting head of state with such crimes since Liberia's Charles Taylor in 2003.

In addition to seeking the arrest warrant, the prosecution asked the court to seize Mr Bashir's property and freeze his assets.

However, Sudan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig said his country did not recognise any decree coming from the ICC, saying: "We consider the indictment of either the president or any other normal citizen of Sudan the same. We don't recognise whatever comes out from the ICC, to us it is non-existent.

He added Sudan will continue with the Darfur peace process and will protect all United Nations personnel in the country.

On Sunday, thousands of protesters chanted anti-American slogans as they rallied in the capital Khartoum to protest against the move which Sudanese Justice Minister Abdel Basit Sabderat told the crowd would ignite his country.

Two senior government officials have said Sudan is likely to seek Chinese, Russian and African support at the United Nations to help block a warrant for President Bashir.

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.

Sudan's permanent representative to the United Nations, Abdelmahmood Abdalhaleem, said on Friday that Mr Moreno-Ocampo was "irresponsible."

He said: "We are not afraid of Ocampo's threats. If he was to name our president then he is under obligation to name the 40 million citizens of Sudan because the 40 million citizens firmly reject this blackmailing."

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