Sudan leader considers Arab plan

Mr Bashir is accused of masterminding the deaths of thousands in Darfur

The head of the Arab League has met Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to discuss accusations against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Amr Moussa said a plan drawn up by the Arab League to solve the crisis had been well received in Khartoum.

During a Cairo meeting on Saturday the Arab League condemned the ICC's call to arrest Mr Bashir on war crimes charges.

ICC lawyers say Mr Bashir must answer charges of genocide over the violence in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.

The Arab League said the ICC's move was "unbalanced".

Trial call

Mr Moussa flew to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Sunday to meet Mr Bashir.

"In so far as work is concerned, we had very, very serious discussions for the duration [of] a little less than two hours," Mr Moussa said.

He said he would meet Arab League ministers again on Monday and was confident that progress would be made.

Mr Moussa did not reveal any details of the Arab League's plan, but the organisation called for Sudan to hold credible trials for those accused of war crimes in Darfur.

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has asked the court for a warrant for Mr Bashir on suspicion of masterminding crimes against humanity in the region.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo accused Mr Bashir of running a campaign of genocide that killed 35,000 people outright, at least another 100,000 through a "slow death" and forced 2.5 million to flee their homes in Darfur.

Meanwhile, the African Union is preparing to meet in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to discuss the implications of Mr Bashir's possible indictment.

The meeting was requested by the Sudanese government.