Arrest warrants have been issued for a Sudanese minister and a militia leader by the International Criminal Court, following suspicions of war crimes committed in the Darfur region by the two men.

|PIC1|Sudan's Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun, and Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, are being sought for arrest on 51 separate counts.

However, Sudan has remained defiant in the face of the news, saying that the ICC has no jurisdiction to try Sudanese people, and that, if needed, the country's own courts would be capable to prosecute any persons needing a trial.

The United Nations has indicated that more than 200,000 people have died and more than two million have been displaced over the four years of the Sudanese conflict. Sudan's Humanitarian Affairs Minister is accused by the ICC of being responsible for organising and funding the Janjaweed, which is an Arab militia force wrecking havoc in the region.

In addition, the Janjaweed leader is accused of overseeing the murder, torture and mass rape of innocent civilians during attacks on villages near Kodoom, Bindisi Mukjar and Arawala in west Darfur, the BBC reports.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in an AFP report, meanwhile, "We completed an investigation under very difficult circumstances, from outside Darfur, and without exposing any of our witnesses."

Moreno-Ocampo added: "We transformed their stories into evidence, and now the judges have confirmed the strength of that evidence."

The prosecutor said that although Sudan is not one of the 120 states signed up to the ICC, the government still has a legal duty to arrest the men.

"It is not just about punishment - but also unveiling the truth. I have to be ready to prove my case beyond any doubt so I still have a lot of work to do," he said on the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

However, Sudan has rejected the ICC's jurisdiction over its nationals and says it will not allow any of its citizens to be tried outside Sudan.