Khartoums Cooperation
After months of blocking aid, denying visas and other adminstrative delays aimed at blocking access to the over a million starving people in Darfur, Khartoum agreed to allow humanitarian aid workers in. But they better keep their mouths shut about what they see.
NYT: The government of Sudan has ordered the country directors of two Britain-based aid agencies that provide relief to displaced people in the Darfur region to leave the country, accusing them of statements that the government says suggest support for rebels.
One group, Oxfam Great Britain, which focuses on providing clean water and sanitation in displaced people’s camps across Darfur, had said Monday that it was “seeking clarification” of the government’s orders. The other group, Save the Children UK, whose work includes distributing soap and blankets to families fleeing war in Darfur, confirmed the expulsion notice on its Web site…
“The ministry sees in these statements indications for supporting rebels and arms holders to continue the war and that such practice constitutes violation for voluntary work laws,” the ministry said in the news release.
Access for aid groups has been a contentious issue since a rebellion broke out in western Sudan in early 2003. The issue prompted the United Nations to denounce the violence in Darfur as the world’s worst relief crisis. This is the first time the government has asked aid workers to leave the country, United Nations officials said.
Save the Children said a week ago that government warplanes had bombed Tawila, a town just west of here, in response to a rebel attack earlier in the day. Staff members of Save the Children fled into the desert, where they were rescued by African Union helicopters. In a statement issued at the time, the group accused both the government and the rebels of violating the cease-fire.
