Russia and China are seeking a delay in any action against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of genocide, warning that it could have an adverse impact on the peace process in the region.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor had sought arrest warrants against Bashir charging him with masterminding the Darfur genocide, war crimes and committing crimes against humanity.

The United Nations urged hundreds of its staff to stay at home on Tuesday as thousands of Sudanese prepared to protest against war crimes charges levelled against their president by an international court. Protests so far have been staged by pro-government bodies but even Sudanese who traditionally oppose Bashir have backed him against the Hague-based ICC. Demonstrators hung pictures of Bashir on the walls of the UN headquarters in Khartoum and the British embassy.

UN security officials told non-essential staff to stay at home on Tuesday ahead of Tuesday’s expected protests. Many aid agencies also said they had pulled staff from rural areas back to towns in Darfur.

The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, or UNAMID, said it would also begin relocating some non-essential staff, although core operations would continue. UN officials say the peacekeepers are most vulnerable to any action taken by the government or its supported militias and point to the last week’s clash in which seven peacekeepers were killed.

Though the culprits have not been definitely identified, some diplomats do not rule out the possibility of the government complicity at time when it knew the request for Bashir’s arrest is imminent.

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