A South African court has issued a temporary ban on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir leaving the country after the International Criminal Court (ICC) called for his arrest at a summit of African leaders in Johannesburg.
A court statement said it was "compelling respondents to prevent President Omar Al-Bashir from the leaving the country until an order is made in this court".
A hearing in Pretoria High Court is set to take place later today.
The ruling came after the Southern African Litigation Centre, a legal rights' group, launched an urgent court application to force the authorities to arrest Mr Bashir.
Mr Bashir, who is wanted over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Darfur conflict, mostly travels to countries that have not joined the ICC, but South Africa is a signatory of the court's statutes.
A South African government official at the African Union summit confirmed media reports that Bashir was at the event, but he declined to give further details.
The ICC said in a statement from its headquarters in The Hague that it "calls on South Africa... to spare no effort in ensuring the execution of the arrest warrants" against Mr Bashir.
Since his indictment in 2009 Mr Bashir has mostly travelled to countries that have not joined the ICC.
Darfur erupted into conflict in 2003 when insurgents mounted a campaign against Mr Bashir's government, complaining their region was politically and economically marginalised.
More than 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict and fighting has forced some 2.5 million people to flee their homes, the United Nations says.
Sudan, however, disputes the figures, estimating the death toll at no more than 10,000.
