A Sudanese minister on Tuesday dismissed United Nations warnings that Khartoum’s decision to expel aid agencies would put thousands of lives of risk.
”The assessment is not true. There is no evidence to support it on the ground,” Ahmed Haroun, the state minister for humanitarian affairs who is wanted as a war crimes suspect, told a press conference.
UN officials say thousands of lives are threatened by the decision to expel 13 international aid agencies and shut three local organisations, and warn that more than a million people will be left without food, water or healthcare.
The expelled agencies make up about half the humanitarian aid capacity in conflict-hit Darfur, and Sudan does not have the capacity to make up the shortfall, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said on Monday.
But Haroun, who is charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the western Sudanese region, dismissed the comments.
”The UN is not in a position to order or advise Sudan,” Haroun said.
”They should just deal with the situation on the ground.”
A joint UN-Sudanese team will leave on Wednesday for Darfur on a week-long mission for a ”real assessment on the ground”, he said. And Khartoum has set up four committees to deal with food, water, healthcare and non-food issues.
The expulsions followed an ICC decision last week to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir, who is accused of masterminding a campaign of extermination, rape and pillage during Darfur’s six-year conflict.
Beshir faces five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes.
UN officials estimate that up to 300 000 people have died and 2,7-million others forced to flee their homes in Darfur, while Khartoum says only 10 000 people have died.
The ICC issued a warrant for Haroun’s arrest in April 2007, detailing 51 charges of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed in Darfur in 2003 and 2004. — Sapa-AFP