NAIROBI, July 15, 2008 (AFP) - Africa reacted with alarm Tuesday to the prospect of Sudan's president being slapped with an arrest warrant for war crimes and slammed the global justice system as hasty, interventionist and biased.

The world's poorest and most restive continent also warned that such a move could further destabilise an already fractious and volatile region.

On Monday, the chief prosecutor of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, made a request for a warrant to be issued against Omar al-Beshir over genocide accusations in the western Darfur region.

The move, the first by the tribunal concerning charges of genocide and also the first targeting a serving president, left the African Union caught between a duty to condemn impunity and a desire to preserve stability.

On Tuesday, the government of Tanzania -- whose president Jakaya Kikwete is the current chair of the pan-African organisation -- urged ICC judges not to rush to approve Moreno-Ocampo's request and warned of dire consequences.

'The United Republic of Tanzania, like many other African countries who are signatories to the ICC, does not condone violence and impunity,' a statement said.

But it went on to argue that the warrant request was 'untimely and ... would have serious negative consequences to the efforts of finding a lasting solution, and would complicate the security situation on the ground.'

South Africa's junior Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad Tuesday said while 'we want to do everything possible to strengthen the ICC,' it was 'important for the ICC to understand that sometimes they must consult more and take action based on the fact it has to take the process forward.

'This action will take months. But even if granted what happens? You can't arrest Beshir, who's going to arrest him?' Pahad said.

'It's important for the ICC to take action that does not undermine its very important role,' he added.

On Monday night, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe did not mince his words, warning of 'military coups and widespread anarchy'.

Egypt echoed the warning on Tuesday, cautioning against 'the danger of dealing irresponsibly with the situation in Sudan, which could lead to a breakdown in security and rattle political stability.'

During the latest AU summit in Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month, the heads of state of the organisation's 53 member countries had formally voiced their resentment over western interference.

A resolution was adopted to warn that 'the abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction is a development that could endanger international law, order and security.'

'The political nature and abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction by judges from some non-African states against African leaders, particularly Rwanda, is a clear violation of their sovereignty and territorial integrity,' the document added.

The drive to sound alarm bells over the destabilising impact of foreign courts was led by Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Kigali broke off relations with Paris in November 2006 when a French judge issued arrest warrants against Kagame's close aides over the 1994 assassination of then president Juvenal Habyarimana, which sparked the Rwandan genocide.

Spain's judiciary has also issued warrants for several key officers from Kagame's entourage on genocide and war crimes charges.

Kagame has repeatedly queried why nobody would expect small African countries to issue warrants against western leaders responsible for such crimes.

Senegal's Le Quotidien daily mirrored a widely held opinion on the continent in an editorial, asking why US President George W. Bush or former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon were never called to the dock in The Hague.

'International justice is clearly a two-speed mechanism in the world... The guillotine always comes down on the world's poorest,' the newspaper said.

Keen not to be seen as backing impunity for the world's dictators, Kenyan newspapers did not attack the principle of Beshir's possible indictment but warned it may have little effect other than causing more deaths.

'It will not do to have merely a symbolic win over the Khartoum regime. Darfuri lives must be protected, whatever the outcome,' The Standard said.