The International Criminal Court's prosecutor is seeking the arrest of Sudan president Omar Hassan al-Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, according to a court document.
The prosecutor said "forces and agents" under the control of Mr Bashir had killed at least 35,000 civilians outright, and caused the "slow death" of 80,000 to 265,000 people, who were displaced from their homes by fighting.
"Bashir committed, through other persons, genocide against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups in Darfur, the Sudan, by using the state apparatus, the armed forces and militia/Janjaweed," the document said.
The prosecution also charged Mr Bashir with crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, extermination, forcible transfer of 2.9 million civilians, torture and rape.
In addition to seeking the arrest warrant, the prosecution asked the court to seize Bashir's property and freeze his assets.
But Mr Bashir said the ICC had no jurisdiction in Sudan and added its charges were untrue. "Whoever has visited Darfur, met officials and discovered their ethnicities and tribes . . . will know that all of these things (including ethnic cleansing) are lies," he said.
The government of Sudan has said it would not recognise any decree from the ICC and that the government would continue to stand by a north-south peace deal, which ended decades of civil war and enshrines elections next year, despite the arrest warrants.
"We are going to continue on in our programme of peace . . . and development - this will not stop us," Information Minister al-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik told reporters.
Sudanese Justice Minister Abdel Basit Sabderat said the ICC was trying to ignite a fire throughout his country.
"(The) ICC is not just targeting the president of the country, but the stability of the Sudanese people because the president represents the nation," he told supporters outside the cabinet office.
Sudan says an ICC move against its senior officials could undermine attempts to end the conflict in Darfur, where international experts say at least 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced since rebel groups took up arms against the government in 2003, accusing it of neglect.
Khartoum says 10,000 people have been killed.
The ICC warrant would also pit the demands of the UN-backed court against UN interests in deploying a peace force in Darfur, where aid officials fear a potential backlash.
A spokeswoman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Mr Ban expects Sudan to ensure the safety of UN staff there despite charges against the country's president by the ICC prosecutor.
Two senior government officials said Sudan would probably seek Chinese, Russian and African support at the United Nations to help block a warrant for Mr Bashir. The UN Security Council can pass a resolution suspending an ICC warrant or inquiry. Observers say once Mr Bashir is named, this would do little to improve Sudan's relations with the West.
The United Nations has heightened security for its personnel in the capital, evacuating family members, restricting movement and relocating non-essential staff from Darfur. The British embassy also told nationals to register with them and to store food, fuel and water.
The United States also said today it had tightened security at its embassy in Khartoum and US facilities in the southern Sudanese capital of Juba.
Amnesty International said that today’s announcement was "an important step towards ensuring accountability for human rights violations in Sudan".
Reuters