Sudan's Beshir blasts UN at Arab summit

Beshir called on the Arab League leaders to issue "strong and clear decisions rejecting this (arrest) decision, and demanding those who fabricated it to annul it."

He already has the solidarity of Arab countries which have repeatedly denounced the arrest warrant issued on March 4 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes in Darfur.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose country on Monday handed over the presidency of the annual Arab League summit to Qatar, echoed calls to support Beshir against the ICC.

"We are called upon today, not (just) to criticise the warrant (which) ... we are all agreed is politicised, but to reject it categorically," Assad said.