The council president, Mexico's UN Ambassador Claude Heller, agreed that "the general sense" of the 15 council members was that Sudan should comply with the court's demand and hand over South Kordofan Gov. Ahmed Harun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb, who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Heller said there was also a sense "that we need a holistic approach to the Sudan issues, and peace also requires justice." But the Security Council did not issue any statement after it held closed-door discussions following an open meeting to hear a report by prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. So it remains unclear whether the UN's most powerful body will take any new action.

Moreno Ocampo urged council members to ensure that the arrest of Harun and Kushayb "be at all times a consistent request of this organization, through its representatives and envoys in the Sudan, as a critical condition for securing peace and stability to Darfur." He said a council meeting Monday of four top UN and African Union envoys and mediators dealing with Sudan offers "a perfect opportunity" to integrate requests for their arrest into the UN's broader strategy for Sudan and Darfur.

The prosecutor informed the council that the court's pre-trial judges ruled on May 25 that the Sudanese government has refused to cooperate and arrest Harun and Kushayb. He expressed hope that their decision would be "acknowledged and followed upon by this council" before he reports again in December.

Sudan is not a member of the tribunal and refuses to recognize its jurisdiction.

Sudan's UN Ambassador Abdalmahmood Mohamad accused Moreno Ocampo of "telling his usual lies and fabrications," of "trying to intervene flagrantly and grossly in the affairs of Sudan" and of being "the greatest impediment to peace in the Sudan." He called Harun "one of the greatest sons of the Sudan ... (who) is doing a great job for his country." Moreno Ocampo said Khartoum has a "binding legal obligation," underpinned by a Security Council resolution, to cooperate with the court and comply with the arrest warrants issued in 2007 for Harun and Kushayb.

While fugitives are normally in hiding, the prosecutor said Harun has a high-profile job in South Kordofan, the oil-rich region which lies on the disputed border between Sudan's Arab-dominated north and black African south. He said Kushayb's whereabouts in South Darfur are also well known.

Harun's "expertise is to attack civilians using tribal militias," Moreno Ocampo said. "He should be arrested before he commits crimes in his new position." After the closed consultations, Moreno Ocampo told reporters "we are pleased that the Security Council expressed support." While members have different views, he said, "all of them agree on the need to do justice and the need to respect the law, and that's what we need." When pressed on whether the council is doing enough, Moreno Ocampo replied: "I informed the Security Council that Sudan is not complying. What else can I do? Ask them." Sudan's Mohamad called Moreno Ocampo's appearance before the council "a failure." "The prosecutor came today with a very specific request to the council to help him arresting those (men)," Mohamad said. "He did not get that." He said "the prosecutor and those who are singing his song" should not allow "issues like this one of today to overshadow the peace process in Sudan today." UN officials estimate 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been displaced in Darfur since ethnic African rebels rose up in 2003, accusing Sudan's Arab-dominated central government of neglect and discrimination.

Moreno Ocampo said "there is some confusion at the moment that there are no more crimes in Darfur," noting fragmented information on rapes and obstacles to delivering humanitarian aid.

He called for a comprehensive report from the UN

Secretariat on the current situation in camps for the displaced and villages in Darfur.