The International Criminal Court has formally called for the arrest of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
In a statement the office of prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he presented the evidence to the court today.
It announced on Thursday that the prosecutor would present evidence and name suspects for 'crimes committed in the whole of Darfur over the last five years', but refused to confirm Mr Bashir would be targetted.
Khartoum, which rejects the ICC's jurisdiction and refuses to surrender two war crimes suspects already named, warned the move could threaten peace efforts.
Mr Bashir has said the ICC had no jurisdiction in Sudan and added that its charges were lies.
Mr Bashir said: 'From the beginning we said we are not a member of the court ... the court has no jurisdiction over Sudan.
'Whoever has visited Darfur, met officials and discovered their ethnicities and tribes ... will know that all of these things (including ethnic cleansing) are lies.'
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has urged Mr Bashir to respect the decisions of the UN war crimes court.
China's UN ambassador also said earlier that plans to issue a warrant for Mr Bashir would put peace prospects 'in jeopardy'.
The African Union, Arab League and Organisation of the Islamic Conference added their concerns; Darfur rebel groups welcomed the news.
About 1,000 demonstrators rallied in Khartoum yesterday, denouncing the anticipated charges at a government-sponsored protest as Mr Bashir chaired an emergency cabinet meeting.
The UN, meanwhile, raised the security level for staff operating in Darfur.
The world body says up to 300,000 people have died since the Darfur conflict broke out in February 2003 between African ethnic minority rebels and the Arab-dominated regime and state-backed militias on the other.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo's request for a warrant marks the first bid by the ICC, based in The Hague, to charge a sitting head of state.
Judges will examine the application to ascertain whether reasonable grounds exist to believe that a crime within the court's jurisdiction has been committed. This could take several months.
