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March 5, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

Sudan expels aid groups after warrant decision

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. spokeswoman says Sudan has ordered the expulsion of six to 10 humanitarian groups from Darfur and seized assets after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against the country’s president.

U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe says the aid groups include Oxfam, Solidarities and Mercy Corps. The others were not identified.

Okabe says U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling the move a “serious setback to lifesaving operations in Darfur.”

The decision comes after the Hague court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

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