A Sudanese employee of the Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross has been killed in the fighting in Darfur, the humanitarian agency said on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old water and sanitation technician was in the ICRC's West Darfur compound near the town of Sileia on Friday when he was killed, said a spokeswoman.

"The ICRC is shocked by the news of this death," the agency said in a statement.

The ICRC has been working in Darfur since 2004. The conflict started a year earlier when ethnic African tribesmen took up arms, complaining of decades of neglect and discrimination by the Sudanese government.

Sudan's Arab-dominated government is accused of responding by unleashing the tribal militia, known as Janjaweed, which have committed atrocities against Darfur's local communities.

At least 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in the violence.

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