A Sudanese man working for a Canadian aid agency in Darfur has been shot and killed in the latest attack against a foreign organization in Sudan, the group said Tuesday.

Gunmen attacked Adam Khater, 39, at his home Monday night and demanded a satellite phone, said Mark Simmons, Sudan country director for the charity Fellowship for African Relief (FAR).

"He was shot by armed bandits at his home in front of his family last night because he could not provide them the satellite phone they were looking for," Simmons told the Canadian Press by telephone from Khartoum.

The joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur also confirmed the killing and said it was under investigation.

"We've been here for 24 years. I've been in Sudan for five years, and this is the first time that one of our staff members has been killed," said Simmons.

Established in 1984, FAR works on water, sanitation, food and economic development projects in Sudan. Most of its 200 workers are Sudanese, says its website.

Tensions on the rise

Fears of a backlash against foreign aid groups and workers have been growing after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant earlier this month against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.

The UN estimates more than 300,000 people have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes in six years of fighting between tribal rebels and militiamen said to be backed by the Arab-dominated regime.

Sudanese officials warned that "unruly" elements might react angrily to the court's indictment against al-Bashir.

A Canadian nurse working for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in the country was abducted and held for four days earlier this month. Laura Archer returned to Canada on the weekend, calling the ordeal a "frightening experience."

Archer, along with Mauro D'Ascanio, an Italian doctor; Raphael Meunier, a French co-ordinator; and Sharif Mohamadin, a Sudanese guard, were released by their captors on March 14.

Sudan shut down 16 aid organizations after the ICC decision, accusing them of helping the international court in The Hague to build a case against al-Bashir. Aid groups deny the charge.

Doctors Without Borders said it was withdrawing all international staff and Sudanese staff who are not from Darfur from projects in the region in the wake of the abductions.

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda's No. 2 man said in a new message that the Sudanese president's problems with the West are retribution for his expulsion of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the past.

In a message posted on the Internet, Ayman al-Zawahri said al-Bashir's government is "reaping what it sowed" because it once tried to appease Western powers.

Bin Laden and al-Qaeda loyalists resided in Sudan for a number of years until 1996, when al-Bashir expelled them under American pressure.

With files from the Associated Press