THE FILING of genocide charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir may trigger a backlash in the country, African church leaders have warned.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, requested judges to issue arrest warrants for Mr al-Bashir for war crimes on Monday.

Mr Ocampo said forces and agents under the president's control had killed at least 35,000 civilians outright, and caused the 'slow death' of 80,000 to 265,000 people, displaced from their homes by fighting.

Roman Catholic Bishop Antonio Menegazzo, apostolic administrator of El Obied diocese, which includes Darfur, told Ecumenical News International the action would be welcomed by the people of Darfur, and possibly also in southern Sudan.

But people in other parts of Africa's biggest country would reject it, he said.

'Everybody is on the alert. Demonstrations have already started in Khartoum,' he said.

The Revd Jude Waweru, coordinator of the Catholic Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, on behalf of the grouping of regional bishops, said he welcomed the action against Mr al-Bashir.

'That is what should happen. It is good for Sudan in general. It is the right way to go in a country where people are oppressed,' he said, describing the court's action as 'justice being done'.

The Revd Fred Nyabera, the executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa, said he hoped the ICC had done sufficient investigation to ensure that the indictments would not jeopardise peace prospects in Sudan, especially in Darfur, and in a separate conflict in southern Sudan that was stemmed by a 2005 peace agreement.

He said, 'There needs to be an international instrument that will ensure leaders act responsibly and protect their citizens.

'That instrument should be applied universally, not selectively. I hope the ICC is not going for a soft landing by targeting mainly African leaders.'

The action marked the first charges to be issued by the ICC against a sitting head of state.