By Jason McLure

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Eritrea dismissed the International Criminal Court's planned indictment of Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir as ``an insult'' and said war crimes charges should be challenged.

``The people and political forces of the Sudan should go beyond this to prevent interference in and internationalization of their domestic affairs,'' according to a statement on the Web site of the Eritrea's Information Ministry.

The ICC said on July 14 it plans to indict al-Bashir for alleged genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan's western region of Darfur, where a five-year conflict has resulted in 300,000 deaths and displaced 2 million people.

Eritrea's relations with neighboring Sudan deteriorated in 2002 when it was accused by the Khartoum government of harboring anti-Sudanese rebel groups. In 2004, Eritrea accused Sudan of trying to assassinate President Isaias Afeworki. Relations have thawed since Eritrea two years ago offered to help broker an end to the Darfur conflict. Last month, Sudan banned Eritrean opposition groups that operate in Khartoum.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.