Sudan to admit three new aid groups to Darfur: official
October 25, 2009 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan has completed processing requests made by three aid groups to start working in Darfur, an official here said today.
The Sudanese state minister for humanitarian affairs Abdel Baqi Al-Gilani made the disclosure during a meeting with the Acting Administrator of USAID Alonzo Fulgham.
Fulgham inquired from Al-Gilani on the reasons why Sudan expelled 13 aid groups last March following the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.
Al-Gilani said that these groups have violated Sudanese laws but that his government is ready to accept replacements.
The Sudanese official said that three Swiss and Scottish relief organizations have been cleared to begin working in Darfur.
He called on USAID to support and encourage the work of aid groups in Darfur and discussed with the US official measures taken by Khartoum to avert a potential food gap.
This week the agricultural minister Abdel-Haleem Ismail Al-Mutaa’fi warned that the country may be facing a serious food gap starting later this year and intensifying in 2010 due to drought and lower than average rainfall.
(ST)