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Hague court issues warrant for Sudan president

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-04 22:23

THE HAGUE -- The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Wednesday for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir meets Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak (not pictured) at the presidential palace in Cairo in this February 22, 2009 file photo. [Agencies]

The decision against Bashir, the most senior figure pursued by the Hague-based court since it was set up in 2002, could spark more turmoil in Sudan and the surrounding region.

It could also hurt prospects for peace in Sudan and pit Western powers against backers of the Khartoum government.

Related readings:  UN chief: Sudan leader should cooperate with court  Sudan's Beshir to visit Egypt for Darfur talks  ICC approves arrest warrant for Sudan's Beshir  Sudan, Darfur rebels agree to hold peace talks

Bashir has dismissed the allegations made by the ICC, the world's first permanent court for prosecuting war crimes, as part of a Western conspiracy.

"They can eat it (the warrant)," he told a crowd of cheering supporters in northern Sudan on Tuesday.

He also vowed that any decision by the ICC will not affect his country. "The Sudanese people do not care the decision," he said.

Supporters of Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (pictured in poster) gather for the inauguration of the Merowe Dam by Bashir in northern Sudan, about 350 km (220 miles) north of the capital Khartoum, March 3, 2009.

Thousands of Sudanese people demonstrated in the capital Khartoum on Wednesday in protest against the arrest warrant.

Witnesses said security was beefed up around foreign embassies while the protestors took to the streets of the capital.

The African Union and the Arab League suggest an indictment could destabilise the region, worsen the Darfur conflict and threaten a troubled peace deal between north Sudan and the semi-autonomous south - potentially rich in oil.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo accuses Bashir of orchestrating a campaign of genocide in Sudan's western region of Darfur, starting in 2003.

U.N. officials say as many as 300,000 people have been killed in the Darfur conflict since 2003, while Khartoum says 10,000 have died.