Sudan says will never reverse decision to expel NGOs

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and several other members of the U.N. Security Council urged Sudan on Friday to reverse its decision to expel 13 foreign aid groups, but Khartoum's envoy said Sudan would never back down.

Sudan ordered the aid agencies out of Darfur after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir earlier this month over alleged war crimes in the western region. Sudan, which does not recognise the ICC, rejects the charge.

"We urge the international community to press the government of Sudan to reverse its expulsion edict and to ensure it does nothing to worsen an already grave situation," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told the 15-nation Security Council.

"President Bashir created this crisis. He should rectify it immediately," she said.

Rice urged the council to unite to help the people of Darfur. However, diplomats said council members remained split on what, if anything, should be done and were unlikely to take any action during Friday's meeting.

British, Austrian, Ugandan and several other envoys also appealed to Khartoum to rethink its position. They cited a bleak report on the humanitarian situation in Darfur from a senior U.N. humanitarian affairs official, Rashid Khalikov.

But the Chinese and Libyan delegates were more cautious, focussing on the negative impact of the ICC arrest warrant on the situation in Sudan.

Khalikov told the council that U.N. aid officials had observed "significant signs of an erosion of humanitarian response capacity, with a concurrent impact on the lives of people in Darfur" since the 13 foreign and three domestic NGOs were expelled.

U.N. officials say the banished aid groups accounted for around half of the aid-distribution capacity in Darfur. There are still more than 70 foreign NGOs left in Darfur.

Sudanese envoy Mohamed Yousif Ibrahim Abdelmannan told the council that Khartoum would not back down.

"The decision of the government of Sudan is a legitimate sovereign decision which we will never reverse, and this should not be a issue for discussion," he said, adding that Khartoum had only expelled a small percentage of the NGOs.

Sudan accused the NGOs of aiding the ICC in its investigation of Bashir, a charge the aid groups reject.

The Arab League and African Union, backed by China and Russia, have called on the council to use its power to suspend the ICC indictment of Bashir. The United States, Britain and France have said they see no point in halting his prosecution.

Some 4.7 million people rely on humanitarian aid in Darfur, a mostly desert region that is roughly the size of France.

U.N. officials say that as many as 300,000 people have died in six years of conflict in Darfur between African rebels and the Arab-dominated government. Khartoum says 10,000 people have lost their lives.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)