Sudan's Bashir to make first trip abroad since ICC move

By Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will travel to Turkey in August, his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court moved to indict him for genocide in Darfur, a presidential source and state media said.

NATO-member Turkey has not ratified the treaty forming the ICC but was under pressure to become a member as part of negotiations to join the European Union.

The Turkish-African summit, attended by several heads of state, will be held from August 19-20 in Istanbul.

The state Sudanese Media Centre quoted a high-level government source as saying Bashir would head Sudan's delegation.

One source at the presidential palace told Reuters: "Yes, for sure he is going."

Asked about the possibility of an ICC arrest warrant being issued while Bashir is in Istanbul, the source said it was very unlikely.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, saying his state apparatus had killed 35,000 people and indirectly at least another 100,000.

Rights groups hailed the move as a blow to impunity but many Sudanese and regional players raised concerns it would derail the peace process in Africa's largest country.