Hague court issues warrant for Sudan's Bashir

By Reed Stevenson and Aaron Gray-Block

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Wednesday for war crimes in Darfur, a decision that could spark more regional turmoil.

The warrant is the first issued against a sitting head of state by the Hague-based court, which stopped short of including a count of genocide over a conflict that U.N. officials say has killed as many as 300,000 people since 2003.

The court, which was set up in 2002, indicted the 65-year-old Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which include murder, rape and torture. The three-judge panel said it had insufficient grounds for genocide.

"His victims are the very civilians that he as a president was supposed to protect," ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters, adding that Sudan's government is obliged to execute the warrant. "It could be in two months or two years, but he will face justice."

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in central Khartoum to protest against the arrest warrant. 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.

"It is a flawed decision," said Sudanese presidential spokesman Mahjoub Fadul. "We do not recognise it."

Hours after the warrant was issued, Sudan revoked the licences of at least six foreign aid agencies, giving no reason for the decision, aid officials said. "This will have a major impact on humanitarian work in Darfur," said one aid official.

Tension mounted in Sudan's western Darfur region, where U.N. officials said hundreds of Sudanese government troops paraded through the regional capital El Fasher in a show of strength.