UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The African Union on Tuesday called for a deferral of the indictment on Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

    AU Chairman and Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete made the appeal at the UN General Assembly, which opened its annual debate here at the UN Headquarters.

    The indictment will complicate the deployment of the joint UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and the management of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, he said. "It is for this reason that the African Union sees deferment as the most expedient thing to do now."

    The deferral should not be viewed as condoning impunity, he said. "We are simply concerned with the best possible sequencing so that the most immediate matters of saving lives and easing the suffering of the people of Darfur are dealt with first."

    "Getting the support and cooperation of the government of Sudan is a matter of essence," he added.

    In July, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he had requested an arrest warrant for al-Bashir over war alleged crimes committed in the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur.