Foreign aid organizations to be expelled from Darfur

Sudan’s Commissioner of Humanitarian Aid (HAC), Suleiman Marhab, threatened to expel foreign aid organizations operating in Darfur that do not comply with an agreement signed with HAC. Marhab made this announcement during a parliamentary hearing on Saturday 15 September, in Khartoum. The Commissioner said he would not allow foreign aid organizations to operate in Sudan without a national partner from 2013 onwards. Marhab added that as of next year he will not allow the provision of relief via air or across borders, explaining that all relief operations should come from inside the Sudanese territory. During the parliamentary hearing, Marhab said the measures in Darfur are the same HAC took regarding foreign aid organizations operating in Kassala State, in the east of Sudan. He pointed out that a number of foreign organizations were already expelled from that area. The Commissioner stated that the number of foreign aid organizations working in Darfur reduced from 200 to less than 40 since 2006.