He is wanted for crimes he allegedly committed while he was the country's security minister.

The crimes include torture, imprisonment, persecution, enforced disappearance and cruel treatment at detention centres run by the then-ruling regime.

Mr Adam is the de-facto leader of the Popular Front for the Renaissance of the Central African Republic (FPRC) - a rebel group that emerged out of the mainly Muslim Seleka alliance in 2014.

The warrant was originally issued under seal in January 2019 but ICC judges had now ordered it to be unsealed, the court said.

Two former Central African warlords, Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona and Alfred Yekatom, who led anti-Balaka militias, are currently on trial at the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity.