afrol News, 25 August - Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga has rejected local media reports that he supports International Criminal Court indictment of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir over alleged genocide crimes.

Mr Odinga said reports were false and misleading, indicating that he was adherent of independent investigations into allegations of war crimes, but was not in a position to assess the work of ICC.

According to a statement signed by his spokesman, Mr Salim Lone, PM's position on the indictment is very clear and it was communicated to Bona Malwal, the presidential envoy two weeks ago.

He said that current effort by ICC could complicate search for peace in that country, further emphasising that ending five year civil conflict in Darfur region should be a priority of Sudan and the international community. "Anything that could derail this vital goal would be regrettable," said the statement.

ICC chief prosecutor at the Netherlands-based court filed genocide and war crimes charges against president el-Bashir on July 14, accusing him of orchestrating a campaign of killings and rape in Darfur. The prosecutor said his state apparatus was directly responsible for the deaths of 35,000 people.

Mr Ocampo asked court for an arrest warrant for Mr al-Bashir, the most senior figure pursued by the court since it was set up in 2002.

But Al-Bashir last week said genocide charges leveled against him were part of a global campaign to topple his government, divide the country and plunder its oil resources.

Mr Odinga, entered into a coalition government with President Mwai Kibaki early this year after post-election crisis that left at least 1,500 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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