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Mr. Moreno-Ocampo says that for more than five years, armed forces and the Janjaweed attacked and destroyed villages on Mr. Al-Bashir's orders. They also uprooted millions of civilians from their lands, killed the men and raped the women.

"I don't have the luxury to look away. I have evidence," the prosecutor said.

The president's intent to commit genocide became clear, according to the prosecutor, with well coordinated attacks on the nearly 2.5 million internally displaced persons living in camps.

Instead of helping the people of Darfur, Mr. Al-Bashir "mobilized the entire state apparatus, including the armed forces, the intelligence services, the diplomatic and public information bureaucracies, and the justice system," in carrying out his campaign of violence.

"They all report to him, they all obey him. His control is absolute," the prosecutor added.

The Court's Pre-Trial Chamber will now review the evidence presented and decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Mr. Al-Bashir.

If indicted, the Sudanese President would become the first sitting Head of State to be charged by the ICC.

An estimated 300,000 people have died in Darfur, either through direct combat or because of disease, malnutrition or reduced life expectancy, over the past five years in Darfur, where rebels have been fighting government forces and allied Arab militiamen, known as the Janjaweed, since 2003.

Sudanese Woman

Photo: An elderly woman, internally displaced from her home in Abyei by heavy fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army, gets ready to receive her ration of emergency food aid in Agok, Sudan. UN Photo by Tim McKulka

Court's Independence

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has emphasized that the Court is an independent institution and that he does not have any influence on the ICC prosecutor, a point he reiterated to Mr. Al-Bashir in a telephone conversation.

He also indicated to the president that he was concerned by a declaration made by the permanent representative of Sudan which linked the initiative of the ICC prosecutor with the two UN peacekeeping operations deployed in Sudan.

"In principle, I believe that peace and justice should go hand in hand. Justice can be a part of the peace process, but peace without justice cannot be sustainable," Mr. Ban said.

During their conversation, the secretary-general also voiced his grave concern about the scale and brutality of the deadly July 8 attack on a joint patrol of the UN-African Union force in Darfur, known as UNAMID. The attack left seven peacekeepers dead and 19 wounded. (See UN Snapshot below for more information.)

UN Peacekeeping

The UN peacekeeping operations in Sudan will continue to carry out their functions in an impartial manner, "cooperating in good faith with all partners so as to further the goal of peace and stability in the country." The world body will also continue its vital humanitarian and development work there.

"The secretary-general expects that the government of Sudan will continue to cooperate fully with the United Nations in Sudan, while fulfilling its obligation to ensure the safety and security of all United Nations personnel and property."

In addition to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), UNAMID has been in place since the beginning of this year to try to end the violence in Darfur, which has uprooted some 2.7 million people, many of whom are living across the border in eastern Chad.

UNAMID

UNAMID vowed to maintain its operations in the region and continue implementing its mandate, as non-essential staff prepared to relocate due to the recent deteriorating security situation across Darfur.

General Martin Luther Agwai, UNAMID Force Commander, emphasized that force protection levels and patrolling would remain the same.

"We will continue to conduct patrols and security, as well as protect UN personnel and UN facilities on the ground," Mr. Agwai said. In addition, we will continue to assist the humanitarian organizations to do their job of rendering humanitarian services to the people in Darfur."

Human Rights

Meanwhile, an independent UN rights official reported that government forces and rebel groups continue to commit human rights violations in the Darfur region of Sudan, while populations in the southern part of the country are also suffering from ongoing violence.

Sima Samar, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan, has completed a two-week visit to Sudan.

She reported that Darfurian civilians continue to suffer from violent actions by various rebel groups, including the destruction of villages near Kafod, the burning down of a mosque and the killing and injury of civilians.

Sudan Detention Facility

Photo: A photo of a container which serves as a detention facility as human rights and protection officers make an inspection of the capacity of police and prison service in efforts to maintain security in the Chukudum area of Sudan. UN Photo by Tim McKulka

Ms. Samar noted that 135 vehicles belonging to aid agencies had been hijacked so far this year forcing the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to cut its delivery of rations by half.

"The government has primary responsibility regarding the promotion and protection of human rights," Ms. Samar said. "I also call on the rebel groups to fully comply with their obligations under international law and to take all necessary measures to protect civilians."

Ms. Samar will present a report on her visit to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in September.