KHARTOUM, Sudan, March 26 (UPI) -- Sudan is keeping food aid from reaching starving people in Darfur, a major aid group expelled from the region charges.
Darren Hercyk, Sudan director of Catholic Relief Services, told The Washington Post Friday the government ordered it out of West Darfur state Jan. 20.
Foreign staff were moved to Khartoum, and the group's Sudanese employees have been blocked from delivering food, medicine and services, he said, adding, "Right now, this means that 400,000 people in West Darfur are not receiving food rations."
Hercyk said the charity did not speak out until now because it hoped the government would relent.
Last month Sudan expelled Medecins du Monde from the Jebel Marra region, which its planes have been bombing, Human Rights Watch says.
The government has accused international aid groups of providing information to the International Criminal Court for its war crimes charges against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The organizations and court deny that.
The government also accused Catholic Relief Services of handing out Bibles in Muslim Darfur, where it has been delivering food, health and water services to almost 1 million displaced people. Hercyk denied the claim and said all of the group's Sudanese staff are Muslim.
