The United Nations urged its staff to stay at home today as thousands of Sudanese prepared to protest against war crimes charges levelled against their president by an international prosecutor.
The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor yesterday asked judges to grant an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Protests so far have been staged by pro-government bodies but even Sudanese who traditionally oppose Mr Bashir have backed him against the Hague-based ICC.
Demonstrators have hung pictures of Mr Bashir on the walls of the UN headquarters in Khartoum and the British embassy.
UN security officials told hundreds of non-essential staff to stay at home today ahead of the expected protests.
Sudan's Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha called the ICC move "irresponsible, illegal and unprofessional," saying the charge was part of a conspiracy to prevent Sudan from being a normal member of the international community.
African Union Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra travelled overnight to Sudan and met Mr Bashir today.
He said Sudan had requested an emergency foreign ministers meeting of the Peace and Security Council (PSC), which he expected would take place before the end of the week.
Asked about the ICC charge, he told reporters: "The targeting of African officials is unacceptable."
AU officials have expressed concern that the ICC's first four cases have only targeted African conflicts.
A group was formed on the social networking site Facebook to support Mr Bashir after the ICC announcement and within a few hours it had attracted almost 1,000 Sudanese at home and abroad.
"I am someone who doesn't agree with Bashir and the way he runs the country ... but when there is a challenge to the nation and its sovereignty, it's another issue," the group's creator Ahmed Hashim Ibrahim wrote.
"A beast may kill one revolutionary but the earth will bear forth a thousand more," he added.
Sudan's government has reassured international workers it will ensure their safety, but the United Nations raised security levels in Khartoum and Darfur ahead of the Hague court's announcement, fearing a violent backlash.
Families have been evacuated from Khartoum and non-essential staff moved out of Darfur.
Many aid agencies said they had pulled staff from rural areas back to towns in Darfur. The United Nations declined to comment on how the world's largest humanitarian operation in Sudan's west would be affected by the security measures.
The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, or UNAMID, said it would also begin relocating some non-essential staff, although core operations would continue.
"We are looking at a trend of security in the past couple of months and the ICC could be another aspect we are looking at but it's not the only reason the UNAMID security level has been raised," said spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero.
Meanwhile China has expressed "grave concern and misgivings" over the decision of the ICC's prosecutor to seek an arrest warrant for Mr Bashir.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference that China had consulted with other members of the United Nations Security Council and "hopes to reach consensus with the relevant parties".
"The ICC's actions must be beneficial to the stability of the Darfur region and the appropriate settlement of the issue, not the contrary," he said.
China has come under international criticism for its oil interests in Sudan and its arms sales there, but it says it has played a positive role in convincing the government to accept a peacekeeping force and in encouraging dialogue.
Reuters