Refugee council pulls out of Darfur

The Norwegian Refugee Council today said it is closing down its humanitarian operations in Darfur because it is impossible to work in the troubled region of Sudan.

The group cited “frequent disruption” of its work, saying it had been suspended five times for a total of 210 days since it started operations in mid-2004.

“We cannot work when the authorities suspend us continuously and do not respond to our repeated requests for dialogue aimed at addressing and resolving underlying reasons for this action,” said NRC Secretary-General, Tomas Archer.

The Norwegian said group the decision directly affects about 300,000 internal refugees in southern Darfur.

“This decision has been the most difficult I have had to make as secretary general of NRC,” said Archer.

“We are all aware that the humanitarian needs are greater than ever in south Darfur.”

A news release said the Oslo-based group had been promised an answer from Sudanese authorities on the future of its humanitarian effort in Darfur, but had to pull out because no answer had been given.