In his most famous case, he defended former Vice-President Lt-Gen Christon Tembo and others who were charged in 1989 with plotting to overthrow Kenneth Kaunda.

BBC: Zambia's president dies in France

The chief of staff, Lt-Gen Moshe Yaalon, disclosed in a recent interview that the army, which had been targeting Mr Shehada for months, had eventually decided to ease its own restrictions so that his wife's presence alongside him would no longer constitute a reason not to bomb him.

ECONOMIST: Fading hopes | The

The meeting was chaired by Lt-Gen Lazarus Sumbeiywo, the special envoy of the IGAD peace process in Sudan with assistance of the IGAD sub-committee's envoys, namely His Excellency Muhammad Umaro of Eritrea, HE Murad Musa of Ethiopia, HE Francis Butagaria of Uganda, observers from Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway and the United States of America.

BBC: Statement on Sudanese peace talks

The orders were later withdrawn in the face of opposition from two top security officials at the time - chief-of-staff Lt Gen Gabi Ashkenazi and the head of the intelligence service, Mossad, Meir Dagan.

BBC: Israeli PM Netanyahu 'ready' to order strike on Iran

He also held meetings with Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the country's army chief, and Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, director-general of the ISI intelligence agency.

BBC: Holbrooke visits Pakistan hotspot

The deputy commander of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), Lt Gen Nick Carter, said he was worried about "the rate of attrition that the Afghan forces are having to cope with presently".

BBC: Afghanistan: Challenges of security handover

Earlier Lt Gen Sir Robert Fry, deputy chief of the defence staff in the run-up to the war, said the UK's role in the March 2003 invasion was crucial.

BBC: British troops on patrol in Basra