By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Trying to arrest Sudan's president for war crimes in Darfur could prolong and complicate the conflict, a minister accused by international prosecutors of inciting mass killings in the region said on Tuesday.

Ahmed Haroun, who denies the charges against him, told Reuters the International Criminal Court's move to indict President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was part of a Western plot to launch a "new colonisation" of Africa and said it could spread instability across the whole region.

Last month, the chief prosecutor of the global court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, asked its judges to issue an arrest warrant for the president, accusing him of orchestrating a campaign of genocide in Darfur.

Moreno-Ocampo's request came just over a year after the court issued an arrest warrant for Haroun, Sudan's state minister for humanitarian affairs, and a militia commander, accusing both of directing mass killings and atrocities at the height of the conflict.

Haroun on Tuesday said he had no fear of his own arrest, dismissing the accusations against him as "ignorant" and fabricated.

But he said legal moves against the president would have far-reaching implications, adding that the government was still planning how it would respond to any warrant.

"They (the court) have devised their plans according to their needs to target our country. We will devise our plans according to our needs to defend our country," said Haroun, refusing to go into further details.

South African President Thabo Mbeki, in Khartoum, added his weight to African Union calls for a halt to moves to try Bashir.

"(They) may lead to further suffering of the people of the Sudan and greater destabilisation with far reaching consequences for the country and the region," a statement from Mbeki and Bashir said.

RAISED SECURITY

The U.N. raised security levels in Sudan after the ICC move was announced as commentators warned there could be a backlash against embassies, aid groups and Western expatriates.

Haroun added that there would be "a disaster" if the court's judges agreed to issue an arrest warrant against Bashir.

"This will encourage the rebels to keep fighting. This will demolish law and order. It will complicate Darfur and make it last longer." He said the aftermath of the arrest warrant could also have an impact far beyond Sudan's borders, without going into more detail.

International experts say more than five years of fighting in Darfur has already killed 200,000 and driven more than 2.5 million from their homes, sparking the world's largest humanitarian operation. Khartoum says 10,000 have died.

The conflict started in early 2003 when mostly non-Arab groups launched a rebellion, accusing Khartoum of neglect.

Court prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo last year accused Haroun of recruiting and arming 'Janjaweed' militias to crush the uprising, as part of his then job as minister of state for the interior.

Court papers said he was present as arms were distributed to fighters, had full knowledge of atrocities including rape and murder happening on the ground, and incited militias to slaughter civilians in speeches.

Haroun on Tuesday dismissed accusations, saying it was "ignorant" to think a minister would attend an arms distribution and denying his job involved any special focus on Darfur.

"No one was responsible for the 'Darfur file'. There was no Darfur desk officer," he said. Sudan had called on reserve forces and volunteers to quell the rebellions, but no fighters were ordered to kill civilians, he added.

Reports of the infamous Khartoum-allied "Janjaweed" militia were an invention of the Western media. "Some people cold have used government weapons to sort our their personal or tribal problems, but not under the direction of the government," Haroun said.

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