Sudan has given a cool reception to a proposal from a panel of African leaders that a special court be set up to try those accused of atrocities in Darfur as part of a new plan to end conflict in the region.

The recommendation, from a team of “wise men” led by Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president, is seen as an alternative to the International Criminal Court, where Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s president, has been indicted.