THE HAGUE, July 11: International Criminal Court prosecutors will seek the arrest of Sudan President Omar al-Beshir for war crimes in Darfur, it emerged on Friday, prompting Khartoum to threaten peace efforts in the region.

“I understand that the prosecutor intends to go before a panel of judges to present information and request for a warrant,” US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington, confirming newspaper reports that Beshir would be targeted.

It would mark the first-ever bid before the independent court, based in The Hague, to charge a sitting head of state with war crimes. The Sudanese government responded angrily to the news.

“If there is a decision about President Beshir, it may destroy the peace process,” Sudan’s state minister for foreign affairs Al-Samani al-Wasila said.

“In this situation, Sudan will never cooperate with the ICC,” he added.

Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s office announced on Thursday that he would unveil a new case on Darfur and name suspects on Monday. It said the case would cover “crimes committed in the whole of Darfur over the last five years”.

But a spokeswoman refused today to confirm that a warrant would be sought for Beshir.

“The prosecutor will make his announcement before a judge of the court on Monday, and we will not give details to the press until after,” she said.

The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have been displaced since the Darfur conflict broke out in Feb 2003. The Sudanese government says 10,000 have been killed.

The conflict began when African ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government and state-backed Arab militias, fighting for resources and power. The Washington Post said some UN officials feared the ICC prosecutor’s move could complicate the peace process in Darfur and trigger a military response by Sudanese forces or their proxies against United Nations and African Union peacekeepers.—AFP