A UN peacekeeper was shot and killed in Darfur on Wednesday as fears of retaliation rose two days after the world court prosecutor sought an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir.

The deadly shooting took place while troops were patrolling western Darfur as the UN-led peacekeeping mission in the war-racked region stepped up air lifts of non-essential staff organised in the face of deteriorating security.

"The joint African Union - United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur has received information that one of its peacekeepers has been killed in Forobaranga in West Darfur whilst on patrol," the force said in a statement.

One official speaking on condition of anonymity from mission headquarters in El Fasher said the peacekeeper, whose nationality was not being disclosed until relatives were informed, was killed at 4.45 pm (1345 GMT).

Fears of a backlash

Although the circumstances of the killing remained shadowy, the shooting will compound UN fears of a violent backlash after the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor on Monday sought an arrest warrant against Beshir.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo accused Beshir on Monday of masterminding a genocidal campaign against three ethnic groups in Darfur and requested an arrest warrant on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

If granted, the warrant would be the first ever issued by The Hague-based court against a sitting head of state.

Seven Unamid peacekeepers died and 22 were wounded in an ambush by heavily armed militia on 8 July, the deadliest in a series of attacks since the United Nations assumed command of peacekeeping in the region last December.

"Unamid condemns all acts of violence against its peacekeepers," the UN-led mission said on Wednesday.

UN evacuates staff

In the last two days, the United Nations has flown around 178 staff out of Darfur — most to Entebbe in Uganda but some on Wednesday "relocated" to Al Obeid in central Sudan.

So far, those leaving are a fraction of the some 10 000 Unamid staff deployed the wartorn western region of Sudan. Officials said staff could return within days or weeks if the mission downgrades its security alert.

Sudan has criticised the evacuations as "unfortunate" and is pressing diplomatic contacts, particularly with its allies in the Arab League, African Union, China and Russia, in a bid to thwart any ultimate arrest warrant.

Beshir has appointed a top-level crisis committee, grouping together nine top officials representing the entire political spectrum in government, which met for the first time on Wednesday to focus on the diplomatic push.

Crisis committee

Its chairperson is First Vice President Salva Kiir, whose Sudan People's Liberation Movement has been the main coalition partner of Beshir's National Congress Party (NCP) since a 2005 deal ended 21 years of civil war.

"The committee held its first meeting today. They discussed what happened at the International Criminal Court and its effect on peace agreements," said Imad Ahmed, an official in president's press office.

The committee is expected to meet African Union officials and Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa, who intends to travel to Khartoum on Sunday, the day after an extraordinary meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo.

Sudan, which has refused to surrender two suspects named last year for war crimes in Darfur, is hoping to encourage permanent members of the UN Security Council to defer any ICC prosecution by a year, renewable each year.

Sudan, which is under a UN-imposed obligation to execute any such warrants, has refused to surrender two suspects named last year for war crimes in Darfur, one of them a sitting cabinet minister.

The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum and state-backed militias.

The United Nations has said 300 000 people have died and more than 2.2 million been displaced. Khartoum puts the number of dead at 10 000.

AFP