CRI听力:Sudan's Bashir Faces ICC Arrest Warrant in S. Africa

A court in South Africa has barred Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir from leaving the country after the International Criminal Court called for him to be arrested at a summit in Johannesburg.

The Pretoria High Court says Bashir must stay until it rules on Monday on whether he should be handed over to the ICC.

Bashir is wanted for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in the Darfur conflict.

He is in South Africa for an African Union Summit.

Sudanese officials remain defiant of the court ruling.

Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour says the president will return home on schedule.

"This is not new to us - we have been subjected to, for many times. We believe that the ICC is a court that is targeting African leaders only. We never heard that the court has targeted any other leader, anywhere in the world. President Bashir was defending his people, he committed no crime, it's a political gas."

Despite the arrest calls, Bashir has joined a group photograph of leaders at the summit.

There are reports that Bashir left South Africa after the opening session of the summit, but this has not been verified.

The ICC indictments relate to the western Sudanese region of Darfur, which erupted into conflict in 2003 when ethnic insurgents launched a campaign against Bashir's government, complaining of marginalization.

Khartoum then launched a counter-insurgency using the armed forces and allied militia.

The United Nations says 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict and another 2.5 million forced to flee their homes.

Khartoum, however, disputes the figures, estimating the death toll at no more than 10,000.