The International Criminal Court's (ICC) indictment of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is a "political conspiracy" against the country and its leadership, a senior Sudanese official said in Beijing yesterday.

"The ICC action is not based on facts it is politically motivated. Its aim is to jeopardize Sudan's sovereignty and halt the ongoing peace process (in Darfur)," Awad Ahmed Eljaz, special envoy Al-Bashir said at a press briefing.

"Some external forces are apparently not happy to see peace and stability in Sudan, so they use the ICC to provoke incidents which might take the country back to wars and conflicts," said Eljaz, who reached China on Monday on a three-day visit.