THE HAGUE (AFP) — Judges at the International Criminal Court have sought more detail from the prosecution in its bid for an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir for genocide, the tribunal said Monday.
The prosecution had been given until November 17 to provide "additional supporting materials", it said in a statement.
In July, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC for an arrest warrant for Beshir on 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
He claimed the president had "personally instructed" his forces to wipe out three ethnic groups in the western Darfur region, where conflict has been raging since 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime.
A panel of judges is reviewing the evidence to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to try Beshir. It would be the court's first indictment of a sitting head of state.
The president has shrugged off the threat of prosecution, while Arab and African leaders have warned of its dangers to regional stability.
The UN Security Council has the option of deferring the prosecution for one year.
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