Nairobi — Beleaguered Sudanese President Omar Hassan el-Bashir may become the first sitting African Head of State to be charged with war crimes in the United Nations-backed tribunal, which sits in The Hague, Netherlands.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor who is facing the same Tribunal, was only arrested after bowing to the international pressure to step down in an onslaught which was led by the US.

The tribunal's chief prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, is due to submit to judges "evidence on crimes committed in the whole of Darfur over the last five years."

According to press reports, Mr Ocampo could charge an individual or individuals.

The International Criminal Court's move, according to analysts, is however likely to cause a deadly backlash with charities and the Sudanese government fearing it could undermine the peace process in the vast Darfur region.

Last month, Mr Ocampo said Sudan's "entire state apparatus" was involved in an organised campaign to attack civilians in Darfur and said he will present judges with evidence implicating senior Sudanese officials.

However, the Sudanese government has vehemently denied ever funding the deadly Janjaweed militia, accused to be the major actor in the bloody conflict.

At least 200,000 people have died in Darfur with 2.5 million displaced since the rebellion erupted in 2003. Sudan's government however says that 10,000 people have been killed.

Mr Bashir whom adversaries describe as a man whose career has been defined by war, after coming to power in a coup in 1989, has tightly held grip and ruled Africa's largest country with a firm fist ever since.

Today, he is on the spot. His admirers however, see him as a man of dignity and pride and has been working to restore a united Sudan after many years of civil war -probably the longest in Africa.

According to analysts, Mr Bashir has been praised for presiding over a flourishing economy.

In fact it is claimed that when he became president, it was punishable by death to be found in possession of US dollars.

He has also won accolades when he presided over the historic Nairobi - led Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, in which the late John Garang de Mabior was named the First Vice President and the President of Southern Sudan, ending a protracted 20 year bloody civil war.

Sudanese analyst Alex de Waal, once told a BBC News website that Bashir is a man for whom dignity and pride are very important. "Quite hot-headed and prone to angry outbursts especially when he feels his pride has been wounded."

When reports reached Sudanese capital Khartoum, that ICC may seek his arrest over allegations of war crimes, thousands of protesters quickly descended on the streets chanting pro - government slogans and blaming America and the West.

Bashir has however denied international accusations of backing the deadly Arab Janjaweed militias, accused of war crimes against the region's black African communities.

Khartoum administration has also reacted angrily on the report, with Sudanese Justice minister Abdel Basit Sabderat, saying that ICC was trying to 'ignite a fire throughout his country.'

"The ICC is not just targeting the president of the country, but the stability of the Sudanese people because the president represents the nation," he told the cheering crowd outside the Cabinet office in Khartoum.

Sudan's permanent representative to the United Nations, Abdelmahmood Abdalhaleem, said Mr Ocampo's move was totally "irresponsible."

He said: "We are not afraid of Ocampo's threats. If he was to name our president then he is under obligation to name the 40 million citizens of Sudan because the 40 million citizens firmly reject this blackmailing."

Last year, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Sudanese government minister Ahmad Harun and militia commander Ali Kushayb but the country has refused to hand them over, saying its own courts can handle any war criminals.

Born in 1944 into a farming family, Mr Bashir joined the army as a young man and rose through the ranks. He fought in the Egyptian army in the 1973 war against Israel.

Shortly before ascending to the helm, he was a commander in the army - responsible for leading operations in the south against then rebel leader John Garang.

For years, Mr Bashir resisted the deployment of UN peacekeepers to Darfur - today there are only 9,000 of a planned 26,000 force deployed.

"We are telling those people who are saying that they want to put pressure on the Khartoum government that we will remain firm and never bow to anyone except the Almighty God," he once told a cheering crowd in 2004.

Mr Bashir also maintains that the Darfur unrest may have been caused by competition for resources.

"In reality, the gist of the Darfur problem is just traditional conflict over resources, which has been coated with claims of marginalisation," he said.

But, the President was angered and humiliated in May when Darfur rebels entered Khartoum, his fortress capital.