KHARTOUM (Agencies) - Sudan vowed on Wednesday it would not work with the International Criminal Court as thousands of Sudanese rallied in Khartoum to protest at the arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir. Security was beefed up around foreign embassies amid fear of reprisals by Bashir supporters, while diplomats urged expatriates to avoid public places and stock up on essential supplies. The government remained defiant after the ICC announced the warrant against Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity including extermination, rape and pillaging - the first by the court against a sitting head of state. "We will not deal with this court," Justice Minister Abdel Basit Sabdarat told Al-Jazeera television. "It has no jurisdiction, it is a political decision." In Khartoum, banner-waving crowds massed on the banks of the Nile, chanting "We love you President Bashir." Sudanese Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti also said his country "absolutely rejects" the ICC arrest warrant. "We will protect President Bashir with every drop of our blood," chanted another group of demonstrators near Khartoum university. One demonstrator, Fakri Osman, charged the West with hypocrisy, saying it had "two weights, two measures." "We want a Sudanese solution to a Sudanese problem," he told AFP. Ahead of the announcement, the Sudanese army broadcast a stark warning on state radio against anyone trying to exploit the court's decision. "The armed forces will firmly deal with whoever cooperates with the so-called ICC, and uses it as a platform for political blackmail and for destabilising the security and stability of the country," spokesman Osman al-Aghbash said. Embassies asked their citizens to stay inside for fear of hostile protests. "As a precaution in case of demonstrations which might inhibit movement, you are advised to maintain several days' stock of food and water," the British mission said. Two military trucks were parked outside the French embassy, an AFP correspondent reported. Some UN staff have been told to leave work early to avoid any potential demonstrations. "Today, pre-trial chamber one of the International Criminal Court ... issued a warrant for the President of Sudan for war crimes and crimes against humanity," ICC spokeswoman Laurence Blairon told a Press conference. "He is suspected of being criminally responsible ... for intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur. This is the first warrant of arrest ever issued for a sitting head of state by the ICC." The 65-year-old Bashir will face five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes. While Bashir would not face charges of genocide as requested by the ICC's chief prosecutor, they could be added to the warrant at a later stage if more evidence emerged, the spokeswoman added. Blairon said Bashir and other high level Sudanese political and military leaders had orchestrated and coordinated the attacks. Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Sudan was legally obliged to execute the arrest warrant while Blairon said the country could be referred to the UN Security Council if it failed to comply.