SIRTE, Libya, (Reuters) – African Union foreign  ministers yesterday voted to suspend cooperation with the  International Criminal Court over its indictment of Sudanese  President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, a delegation member said.

The AU has said the warrant would compromise peace efforts  in Darfur and the 53-member organisation wants a deferment of  the indictment, covering war crimes carried out during fighting  in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The draft for an AU summit, seen by Reuters, said: “(The  African Union) decides that in view of the fact that the request  by the African Union has never been acted upon that AU member  states shall not cooperate pursuant to the provisions of Article  98 of the Rome Statute on the ICC…or the arrest and surrender  of African indicted personalities.”