Bashir defies arrest warrant

HARARE, Zimbabwe, June 7 (UPI) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir defied authorities with a trip to Zimbabwe while facing an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes, sources said.

Bashir landed in Zimbabwe Saturday for a two-day African leaders' summit at Victoria Falls, CNN reported Sunday.

It was at least the third time Bashir has visited other countries since the

International Criminal Court in March issued an arrest warrant accusing him of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in his government's battle with rebels in Darfur in western Sudan.

Bashir, who visited Qatar and Ethiopia after the warrant was issued, has denied the charges of the war crimes tribunal, based at The Hague in the Netherlands. The court has no powers of arrest and depends on countries to arrest suspects on the court's behalf.

The United Nation's estimates 300,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million have been displaced in Darfur in rebel and government clashes since 2003.