Sudan Says It Will Not Confront UN Over Darfur War Crimes Probe

Sudan's foreign minister says his government will not confront the United Nations over its decision to refer suspected war criminals in Darfur to the International Criminal Court.

However, Mustafa Osman Ismail said Tuesday that Sudan will hold its own investigation into the alleged crimes.

On Monday, the International Criminal Court in the Hague opened an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Sudan's western Darfur region.

Sudanese officials have said they will not hand over citizens for trial in a foreign country.

U.N. officials have given the Hague court a sealed list of suspected war criminals, which is reported to include the names of Sudanese army commanders, pro-government Arab militiamen and rebels.

The conflict in Darfur has killed an estimated 180,000 people and displaced more than two million others.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.