Kampala,- Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has not been invited to an African Union (AU) summit in Kampala in July because he is wanted by the International Criminal Court, the Ugandan presidency said on Saturday.

"President Yoweri Museveni has disclosed that his Sudanese counterpart General Omar al-Bashir has not been invited to attend the African Union Conference," a statement from the presidency said.

Museveni made the disclosure on Friday during a meeting with ICC president Sang-Hung Song, who is in Kampala for the court's ongoing review conference.

Sudan is free to send other government representatives to the summit, the statement said.

The announcement marks a change from Uganda's previous conduct regarding al-Bashir.

Last year, in the weeks preceding an international conference, Uganda invited al-Bashir to Kampala and refused to commit to arresting him if he accepted.

That invitation prompted a last minute visit to Kampala by ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo.

At a joint news conference with Uganda's deputy foreign minister, Ocampo assured the media that al-Bashir would be arrested if he visited Kampala because Uganda is a member of the ICC.

However, state minister for foreign affairs Okello Oryem refused to give the same assurance.

Days later, Uganda issued a statement encouraging al-Bashir not to accept the invitation.

Al-Bashir is wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

By AFP