Court ordered to rule again on Bashir genocide charge

"Now we are assessing our situation on whether it is ethically possible to negotiate with a government accused of committing genocidal crimes against our people."

Tugud spoke from Doha, where JEM has been holding discussions with Khartoum supposed to lead to full peace talks.

Adding a charge of genocide to the arrest warrant could further isolate Bashir and provoke further unrest in Darfur, where 4.7 million people have been left dependent on aid by a seven-year conflict.

The investigation into Darfur was launched in June 2005 after the United Nations Security Council referred the situation to the ICC.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the appeals chamber said the pre-trial chamber had placed too high a threshold on the evidence needed to include genocide in the arrest warrant.

Before the ruling, Sudan presidential adviser Bona Malwal told Reuters the timing of the ICC announcement, less than 10 weeks before Bashir is due to stand in presidential elections, proved it was pursuing a political agenda against the president.

Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur in 2003 accusing central government of neglecting the remote region. Khartoum mobilised militias to quell the revolt, sparking a humanitarian crisis which the United Nations estimates has claimed 300,000 lives. Bashir puts the death toll at 10,000.

Washington, Darfur rebels and activists all call Darfur's conflict genocide. A U.N.-appointed commission of inquiry found no genocide, but said some individuals may have acted with genocidal intent.