Wanted Sudan leader flies out

Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, who is accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide during the Darfur conflict has left South Africa, pre-empting a court ruling over an international warrant for his arrest.

Mr Bashir was in Johannesburg for an African Union (AU) summit. A news conference will be held in Sudan's capital upon his arrival. 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. At the hearing at the Pretoria High Court, the lawyer representing the South African government says Mr Bashir's name was not on the list of passengers who took off earlier. But the Sudanese state minister for information has told Reuters news agency that Mr Bashir's plane was expected to land in Khartoum at about 18:30 local time (1530 GMT).

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".