Omar al-Bashir: ICC urges S Africa to arrest Sudan leader

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has called on South Africa to
arrest Omar al-Bashir, with the Sudanese president in the country
for an African Union (AU) summit.

Mr Bashir is wanted for war crimes over the conflict in Darfur.
An ICC statement said South Africa should "spare no effort" in
detaining him.
But instead he was welcomed by South African officials on his
arrival in Johannesburg, SABC tweeted.
Sudan's Suna news agency said he was accompanied by the foreign
minister and other top Sudanese officials.
There are tensions between the ICC and AU, with some on the
continent accusing the court of unfairly targeting Africans.
The AU has previously urged the ICC to stop proceedings against

sitting leaders.

The warrants against Mr Bashir, who denies the allegations, have
severely restricted his overseas travel.
He has however visited friendly states in Africa and the Middle East.
Arrest 'unlikely'
The ICC statement said South Africa should "respect their
obligations to co-operate with the court", something South Africa's
News24 said was unlikely to happen.
Human rights organisations and South Africa's main opposition
party have also called for his arrest.
Darfur has been in conflict since 2003, when rebels took up arms
against the government. The UN says more than 300,000 people
have died, mostly from disease.
The ICC has ended an investigation into war crimes in the region,
but the warrants against Mr Bashir remain outstanding.
The official theme of the AU summit is the "Year of Women's
Empowerment and Development".
But the political turmoil in Burundi, crisis in South Sudan and the
recent spate of xenophobic attacks are also likely to feature heavily.