Sudan Invites Aid Groups Back to Darfur

After getting the boot in March, NGOs to return to troubled region

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted May 8, 2009 7:43 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Sudanese government says it will invite new aid groups to work in Darfur and let the UN and other agencies expand their operations in the region. The announcement comes two months after Sudan expelled 13 NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders, in the aftermath of the International Criminal Court's indictment of President Omar al-Bashir. The UN's humanitarian chief said he would have preferred if Sudan had reversed the earlier expulsions but was encouraged by the "welcome degree of flexibility."

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Niemat Ahmadi, who was forced to leave Darfur in 2005, takes part in a protest at the Sudanese Embassy against the actions of the Sudanese government in Darfur on Monday, April 27, 2009 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Activists call for President Obama's attention in saving victims of genocide in Darfur as they rally in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, April 19, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Members of an African delegation demonstrate against the actions in Darfur outside the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Tuesday, April 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Two displaced Sudanese women seeking medical treatment line up outside an Egyptian military field hospital in a Darfur refugee camp, Thursday, March 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Displaced Sudanese women seeking medical treatment line up outside an Egyptian military field hospital in a Darfur refugee camp, Thursday, March 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

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I think what we're hearing is that new NGOs with new names, new logos, if necessary, can come in. That means there's an opportunity to exploit some of that expertise and experience that is there. - John Holmes, UN humanitarian chief

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Sudan Invites Aid Groups Back to Darfur