(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Sudan dismissed on Sunday reports claiming that President Omar Al-Bashir was prevented from leaving South Africa where he participated in an African Union (AU) summit.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said in press statements that his country rejected an International Criminal Court (ICC) request to South Africa to arrest Al-Bashir, saying the president was currently attending the AU summit.

"It is an earlier request from the ICC," he said, pointing to African opposition to the ICC's request.

Earlier in the day, a South African court issued a decision banning Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir from leaving the country after the ICC called for him to be arrested at the AU summit in Johannesburg.