Sudan says Darfur aid workers at risk over ICC move

Nairobi: International aid workers and peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region are at risk if President Omar Hassan Al Bashir is indicted for war crimes, his adviser said on Tuesday.

The International Criminal Court has sought an arrest warrant for Al Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"If there is an indictment of the president of the Sudan, how can the international community hold Sudan responsible for the protection of the many international bodies that are working in Darfur?" Bona Malwal told a news conference.

Malwal said if an arrest warrant was issued, one of the next casualties would be international peacekeeping operations in Darfur.

"There is no way we can accept that an international force that we don't command stays in Darfur with a warrant of arrest on our president," he said.

Malwal said Sudan's government may not be able to discharge its duties including allowing aid workers in.

"We will not give visas, we may even withdraw visas. If we say Darfur has become a contested territory between us and the ICC, we can only look after the security of the territory and not the security of international personnel," he said.