UNITED NATIONS — Sudan ordered at least 10 humanitarian groups expelled from Darfur on Wednesday after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the country’s president.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said the action “represents a serious setback to lifesaving operations in Darfur” and urged Sudan to reverse its decision, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.
Aid groups protested, saying they had no connection to the court and that their absence could lead to a crisis for hundreds of thousands of war-weary Sudanese who need such basics as shelter, food and clean water.
The nongovernmental aid groups ordered out were Oxfam, CARE, Medecins Sans Frontieres-Holland, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, Action Contre la Faim, Solidarites and CHF International. The Associated Press
