ICRC: Suspending operations in Sudan

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was suspending operations in Sudan as of Saturday for technical reasons.The "Sudanese Commission of Humanitarian Affairs sent a letter demanding the ICRC to suspend its activities until it meets some conditions," spokesman of the ICRC's Khartoum office Dafallah Quraishi said in a statement.The commission, he added, wanted to place the ICRC budget under the control of the Sudanese Red Crescent and that the ICRC would not do any activity on the ground but before informing the Sudanese authorities of the nature, timing and place of this activity."The conditions of the (Sudanese) authorities are not fair and the Red Cross cannot accept them," he said.Quraishi said all ICRC offices around the world work independently. He said the operations would be suspended until an agreement on new conditions reached with the Sudanese authorities.The ICRC said it was helping around a million people in Sudan with medical and food supplies.