KEY POINTS:
Sudan has expelled a respected international refugees agency in the latest sign of a crackdown on aid operations in the war-torn province of Darfur.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) was accused in the state media of inciting the 2.5 million people in camps not to return home.
Sudan denies obstructing aid workers but NGOs have become increasingly concerned that they are being barred from Darfur.
Another refugee agency, the Norwegian Refugee Council, announced last week that it was pulling out of Darfur, accusing the Sudanese authorities of making it "impossible" for them to carry out their work.
Most aid agencies working in Darfur have been forced to scale down their activities in recent months as the Sudanese government has sought to prevent their movement.
One senior official at an aid agency working in Darfur, who did not want to be named for fear of putting the agency's work at risk, said: "I have never seen a situation this complicated to work in. It is a complete minefield. The government is reducing our space to such an extent that we can't work properly. They don't want us in the rebel areas where we can see what's going on."
The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan will meet with US, EU and African officials in Ethiopia today to discuss ways of bolstering the under-staffed and under-resourced African Union mission trying to keep the peace in Darfur.
Mr Annan said yesterday that he had not given up hope of sending UN personnel to Darfur, despite the strong opposition of Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir.
- INDEPENDENT
