Bashir rallies forces to fight warrant

Since the International Criminal Court indicted Omar al-Bashir on war crimes charges two weeks ago, the Sudanese president has become ever more defiant of the west.

Regional officials now draw parallels to the diplomatic impasse between the west and Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Reverting to form from the 1990s, Mr Bashir's regime is seeking the support of radical Islamic elements, some of whom are threatening - on Sudanese websites - to conduct a bombing campaign across Europe and the US. It has also expelled aid workers, bringing potentially fatal consequences for refugees in war-torn Darfur.

The United Nations says 1.1m people will be left without food, 1.5m without healthcare and 1m without drinking water. now the regime has threatened western diplomats that if they protest too much they could be thrown out too.

In Europe and the US, officials are aghast. But short of intervening militarily, they have few sticks left with which to beat Mr Bashir's regime. The dilemma is more acute still for Sudan's neighbours in both the Arab world and Africa.