The beleaguered Sudanese president has been accused of war crimes in his country's Darfur region. Egypt is not a signatory of the ICC's charter, which obliges member states to arrest those indicted if they enter their territory. It is unclear if President Bashir still plans to attend a 29-30 March Arab summit in Doha, Qatar, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

The report said Sudan's highest religious authority, the Committee of Muslim Scholars, this week issued a fatwa urging him not to go, citing threats from enemies. The Egypt visit comes amid a worsening humanitarian situation in Darfur.

Following the ICC indictment Khartoum ordered the expulsion of 13 international aid agencies. On Tuesday, the United Nations' humanitarian head John Holmes said the Sudanese government had not done enough to fill the gaps in aid provisions. "These are band-aid solutions, not long-term solutions," he said.

He spoke at a news conference to release a joint Sudanese-UN assessment that found more than a million people in Darfur would go without food rations by May unless new aid agencies were deployed. A fire at a camp for displaced people in western Darfur destroyed 600 shelters on Tuesday.

A local official said an "unknown group" had started the blaze at Abuza camp, which houses more than 12,000 refugees. The ICC accuses Bashir of orchestrating atrocities against civilians in Darfur, where his Arab-led government has been battling black African rebels since 2003.

Up to 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million have been driven from their homes. Sudan denies the charges and says the figures are exaggerated.