Sudan dismisses Beshir arrest warrant 'rumours'

Sudan dismissed as "rumours" a reported decision by International Criminal Court judges to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Beshir over alleged genocide in Darfur.

Sudan on Wednesday dismissed as "rumours" a reported decision by International Criminal Court (ICC) judges to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Beshir over alleged genocide in Darfur.

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"The rumours are aimed to spoil the Doha talks that is why we don't consider them," foreign ministry official Mutrif Siddiq told AFP, referring to Qatari-hosted talks between a Darfur rebel group and the Khartoum government.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that ICC judges in The Hague had decided to issue an arrest warrant against Beshir, the first against a sitting head of state.

The paper said precise charges cited by the judges against Beshir had not been not disclosed.

Last year, ICC's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court for an arrest warrant for Beshir on 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

Sudanese officials, including Beshir, have always insisted they will not cooperate with the ICC, saying that any allegations of crimes in Darfur would be dealt with in Sudanese courts.

"It's clear Sudan is not a party of the ICC. Whatever the ICC does it is not affecting us," Siddiq said, slamming the charges as "politically motivated."

ICC spokeswoman Laurence Blairon told AFP following the report that "at this moment, there is no arrest warrant."

"When we have something to announce, we will announce it. For now, there is nothing to announce."