Bashir 'war crimes' call arrest

Hassan al-Turabi fell out with President Bashir in the 1990s

Sudanese Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi has been arrested after calling on Sudan's president to hand himself in to face war crimes charges.

The veteran opposition leader is the most high-profile Sudanese figure to say Omar al-Bashir should go to The Hague to face charges over Darfur.

Mr Turabi's son said he was worried for the health of his 76-year-old father.

International Criminal Court (ICC) judges are deciding whether to issue an arrest warrant for Mr Bashir.

The BBC's Amber Henshaw in the capital, Khartoum, says tension is mounting ahead of the ICC decision.

The head of national intelligence recently said foreigners in Sudan could be attacked if an arrest warrant is issued for the president.

The problem is the rebels and the people who sponsor the rebels and embolden the rebels Khalid al-MubarakSpokesman Sudan embassy, London

Meanwhile, senior government officials have been saying they have intelligence to suggest that a Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), will launch a series of attacks ahead of an ICC ruling.

A spokesman at Sudan's London embassy said the arrest came as no surprise as Mr Turabi was known to have links with Jem, which he described as a "terrorist organisation".

"This is quite normal as you know in many countries including the United States