Amman  - International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Thursday said Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir's trips to neighbouring countries was "a sign of desperation."

"It seems to me that al-Bashir's trips are nothing more than a sign of desperation rather than a challenge to the ICC," Moreno- Ocampo said in a telephone interview with the Doha-based al-Jazeera satellite television channel.

"Al-Bashir carries out short-distance trips to countries neighbouring Sudan to give the impression that he can travel, but he cannot go farther," he said.

The Sudanese president, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the ICC on March 4 for alleged atrocities in Sudan's western Darfur region, on Thursday visited Libya.

Earlier this week he made similar trips to Eritrea and on Wednesday he visited Egypt, where he met with President Hosny Mubarak.

Al-Bashir has been invited to the regular Arab summit conference due to be held in Doha at the month, but Sudan's top Islamic scholars have advised him not to attend.

Qatar, Egypt, Eritrea and Libya have not signed the Rome Statue that established the ICC. All countries were, however, "supposed to implement international law and help us to stop the genocide in Darfur," Moreno-Ocampo said.

"The arrest of al-Bashir may take time, but he must be eventually arrested," he said. (dpa)