A US aid group has been expelled from Sudan's war-hit region of Darfur for having a stock of Arabic-language bibles, the official SUNA news agency reported on Saturday. The Texas-based "Thirst No More" humanitarian group's Internet website says its work in Darfur focuses on "bringing clean, safe, and sustainable drinking water to persons who lack access to this precious natural resource."
A Sudanese official said members of the group have admitted possessing 3,400 bibles in Arabic in violation of laws governing the work of humanitarian organisations in the country. SUNA quoted Osman Hussein Abdallah, Sudan's commissioner for humanitarian aid in North Darfur, as saying the organisation was unable to explain why it had the bibles.
The American embassy in Khartoum was unable to confirm to AFP that Thirst No More had been expelled, saying it had been unable to contact members of the group. Dozens of international aid groups operate in Darfur, where the United Nations says that up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have been displaced since the uprising against the Arab-dominated government started in February 2003.