EU urges Chad to arrest Beshir

(BRUSSELS) - EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton urged Chad on Thursday to arrest Sudan's visiting President Omar al-Beshir and hand him over to an international court to face genocide charges.

Ashton "urges Chad to respect its obligations under international law to arrest and surrender those indicted by the ICC (International Criminal Court)," her press office said in a statement.

She said Chad was a signatory of the Rome Statute, the founding document of the ICC, obliging it to arrest any person on its territory wanted by the court.

Ashton's office did not indicate whether the EU could act against Chad if it did not meet her request.

Beshir was greeted by President Idriss Deby Itno when he arrived in Chad on Wednesday.

Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat said Beshir had "nothing to worry about" as he attended a meeting Thursday of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States.

The ICC has issued two arrest warrants for Beshir, both relating to atrocities committed in Sudan's western Darfur region, but with no police force the court depends on member states to enforce its orders.

The first warrant was issued in March 2009 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Those charges were extended to genocide in a second warrant issued by the ICC earlier this month.