Nairobi/Khartoum - The Sudanese military has taken a rebel-held town in the restive Darfur province days after warning UN peacekeepers to leave to avoid being caught in fighting.

A Sudanese army spokesman said Wednesday that government forces had taken Muhajiriya from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, which itself seized the town last month.

However, the rebel group said it had retreated from the town to prevent civilians from being killed in the crossfire and bombing raids.

The Sudanese government on Sunday asked peacekeepers from the joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur to quit the town.

The UN refused, saying it had to protect the thousands of civilians who were seeking protection by clustering around its base.

Fighting has been ongoing around the town since mid-January, killing about 30 people and displacing up to 30,000, the UN said.

Tension is mounting in Darfur because of an impending decision by the International Criminal Court on whether to bring war crimes charges against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Al-Bashir is facing possible charges of genocide and other war crimes relating to Darfur.

Sudan has said it does not recognize the court, and African leaders have closed ranks around al-Bashir.

The UN is worried it might be ordered to leave Sudan if the court indicts al-Bashir.

The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when mainly non-Arab tribesmen took up arms against what they called decades of neglect and discrimination by the Arab-dominated Sudanese government in Khartoum.

Up to 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced by almost six years of fighting in Darfur. (dpa)