The Hague - The prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is to appeal the court's decision to release former Congolese president Jean-Pierre Bemba until the beginning of his trial.

In a statement released on Friday, chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said he would present his appeal to the court on August 24.

The statement came hours after the court ruled Bemba, 47 - who has been charged with five counts of war crimes allegedly committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) - should be released.

The court said Bemba's continued detention "did not appear necessary" to ensure the defendant's appearance at trial, nor to ensure that he "does not obstruct or endanger" court proceedings or to prevent him from continuing "the same or related crimes".

However, the court said the suspect's release would be deferred until the agreement had been reached about its conditions.

In his statement, Moreno Ocampo said various countries proposed by Bemba's defence council as his potential "hosts" had objected to his presence, so there was "no prospect of immediate release" anyhow.

He emphasized the ICC had ruled earlier Bemba should stand trial "to answer the very serious charges that have been brought against him."

The Hague-based ICC has charged Bemba with war crimes allegedly committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) between 2002 and 2003.

Bemba became vice-president of Congo in 2003 and previously was president of the Congo Liberation Movement (MLC), a rebel group that fought in the Democratic Republic of Congo's 1998-2003 war.

He is accused of leading MLC-troops in a campaign of murder, torture and rape in the CAR.

Arrested by the Belgian authorities on May 24, 2008, he was transferred to the ICC detention centre in The Hague on July 3, 2008 and first heard at the ICC on July 4.

In a pre-trial hearing on January 12, the ICC determined Bemba could be prosecuted by the UN-sponsored court.

Operating under the auspices of the United Nations, the ICC was established by the Statute of Rome in 1998, an international agreement signed by 106 countries.

Since it began operating in 2002, the ICC has investigated war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, the Central-African Republic and Darfur. (dpa)