Sudan tells US envoy decision on ejected groups irreversible
March 10, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan told the US envoy in Khartoum that it would not allow the expelled aid groups to resume their works in the war torn region of Darfur, saying this decision is definitive and irreversible.
The Sudanese authorities expelled 13 aid groups from Darfur accusing them of working with ICC and not observing the rules of the humanitarian action in Sudan. The decision, which came hours after the issuance of an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir was seen as politically motivated.
The US chargé d’affaires Alberto Fernandez met today with the secretary of political relations at the National Congress Party (NCP) Mohamed Mandor Al-Mahdi who told him that the government does not intend to reverse its decision to expel the aid workers.
“We told them clearly there is no room to annul or freeze the decision” Mandor said.
The NCP official also asserted that food is available for Darfur displaced for the next two months in the three states. As for the water, he pointed out that the groups only maintain the installations and necessary measures have been taken to ensure this vital service for the IDPs.
According to the United Nations, the foreign NGOs concerned by this measure are: Action Contre la Faim (ACF), Care International, CHF International, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Mercy Corps, both the French and Dutch branches of Médecins sans Frontières, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam GB, Solidarite, PATCO and Save the Children Fund of both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Fernandez expressed following the meeting “We are very concerned about the expulsion of the aid groups and will follow the situation with keen interest in the coming days,” the official SUNA reported.
He further said the situation in Darfur before and after the [ICC] decision has been complicated and complex. He further added that US priorities and concerns in the Sudan and Darfur continues to be the same: achieving peace and significant improvement of the IDPs humanitarian situation.
The United States, the United Nations and some western states had previously condemned the expulsion for the 13 key aid groups.
“These organizations provide a lifeline to 4.7 million people in Darfur alone, and millions more in other areas of Northern Sudan. While some 85 international NGOs operate in Darfur, without these organizations much of the aid operation literally comes to a halt” said the UN agencies in Sudan last week.
(ST)