Date:26/06/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/26/stories/2006062604021400.htm

International

Sudan bars U.N. activities

KHARTOUM: The Sudanese Government on Saturday night ordered local authorities in the western region of Darfur to suspend U.N. activities in the region, except humanitarian activities of the World Food Programme and international aid agencies. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that it had instructed the authorities of the three States in Darfur to implement the order immediately. The statement said that the Ministry made the decision because the U.N. Mission in Sudan had overstepped its mandate by airlifting a leader of Darfur rebel movements. By this move, the statement said, ``the UNMIS went beyond its authorities and missions which had been stipulated in an agreement reached between the Sudanese Government and the U.N.'' — Xinhua