SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa court to rule on Sudan's Omar al-Bashir arrest

A South African court due to decide on whether Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir should be arrested for war crimes has been adjourned for an hour.

Mr Bashir was seen leaving his hotel in a black BMW and reportedly heading to Waterkloof air force base in Pretoria.

The Pretoria High Court is to rule on whether he should be handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) who have charged him with the crimes.

The Sudanese leader is in Johannesburg for an African Union (AU) summit.

He is accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide during the Darfur conflict.

Mr Bashir's plane at the Waterkloof air force base in Pretoria fuelled up late on Sunday night and its crew has obtained final clearance to take off and could leave at any time on Monday, says the BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Pretoria.

The UN says that about 300,000 people in Sudan have died and more than two million have fled their homes since fighting began in 2003.

Government forces and allied Arab militias are accused of targeting black African civilians in the fight against the rebels.

On Sunday, the court ordered Mr Bashir not to leave the country until the case had been heard.

On Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the ICC's warrant for the arrest of Mr Bashir must be implemented by countries who have signed up to the court's statutes.

As a member of the ICC, South Africa is obliged to arrest anyone charged by the court. Before the summit, the ICC issued a press statement urging the South African government "to spare no effort in ensuring the execution of the arrest warrant"