by Peter Martell
KHARTOUM, March 4, 2009 (AFP) - Sudan ordered the expulsion of up to 10 foreign aid agencies on Wednesday after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Beshir on war crimes charges.
The move against relief organisations, which provide essential aid to the estimated 2.7 million people made homeless by the war in Darfur as well as assistance in the reconstruction of south Sudan after two decades of civil war, drew a swift response from UN chief Ban Ki -moon, who urged a change of mind.
"Ten NGOs will be expelled," the head of an aid group working in Darfur told AFP. "They told us to leave the country within 24 hours," he added.
"Up to 10 NGOs will be expelled," a UN source told AFP.
The UN chief said he was "concerned to hear that between six and 10 humanitarian NGOs have had their registrations revoked, and some of their assets seized".
"He notes that this represents a serious setback to lifesaving operations in Darfur, and urges the government of Sudan to act urgently to restore these NGOs to their full operational status," his spokeswoman Michele Montas said.
Sudan's Vice President Ali Osman Taha confirmed that several relief groups had been expelled, because "they are breaking the law of the country".
He did not elaborate, but said Sudan remained "committed to the implementation of the agreement we signed with the UN and other NGOs."
International aid agency Oxfam said its licence to operate in northern Sudan had been revoked, but had appealed to Khartoum to reverse the decision.
"If Oxfam's registration is revoked, it will affect more than 600,000 Sudanese people whom we provide with vital humanitarian and development aid, including clean water and sanitation on a daily basis," said Oxfam's international director, Penny Lawrence.
The French medical aid organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had been ordered to withdraw its non-local staff from Darfur. Khartoum told the organisation it was unable to ensure their safety.
"The government of Sudan has ordered MSF to evacuate all its international personnel from a certain number of projects in western and southern Darfur by March 4 at the latest," MSF said in a message posted on its website.
An MSF official said about 70 people, including foreigners and Sudanese from outside Darfur, were pulled out on Tuesday from four towns in the western region.
As a result, civilians in some parts of Darfur were left without access to medical care, notably in Niertiti where there is an outbreak of meningitis, the organisation said.
Its sister agency MSF Holland was also expelled, leaving more than 200,000 patients without their medical care, the NGO said in a statement.
"It is absurd that we as an independent and impartial organization have been caught up in a political and judicial process," said its operational director Arjan Hehenkamp.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said it too had been ordered to leave north Sudan.
Other agencies believed to have been told to leave include Care, Action Contre La Faim, the International Rescue Committee and Mery Corps.
Last month, Khartoum accused a number of NGOs it did not name of colluding with their own governments and warned them to stay clear of Sudanese politics.
"We know that some NGOs are governmental," Humanitarian Affairs Commission chief Hassabo Mohammed Abdel Rahman said.
"We see in practice and implementation more involvement of politicians, either ambassadors or governments within these NGOs."
Sudan has in the past expelled NGO workers and diplomats, especially those working in Darfur.
str/txw
Copyright (c) 2009 Agence France Presse
Received by NewsEdge Insight: 03/04/2009 15:31:11
©AFP: The information provided in this product is for personal use only. None of it may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the express permission of Agence France-Presse.
