Distrust in Sudan

This item appears on page 21 of the May 2009 issue.

On March 4, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir for war crimes committed in Darfur. The government of Sudan then began expelling aid groups from the country, publicly calling humanitarian aid workers “spies.”

The Department of State recommends deferring all travel to Sudan due to uncertain security conditions following the expulsion of the NGOs as well as harassment of humanitarian aid workers and Westerners in general.