World / United Nations Sudan Invites Aid Groups Back to Darfur After getting the boot in March, NGOs to return to troubled region By Jason Farago, Newser Staff Posted May 8, 2009 7:43 AM CDT Copied Niemat Ahmadi, who was forced to leave Darfur in 2005, takes part in a protest at the Sudanese Embassy against the actions of the Sudanese government in Darfur on Monday, April 27, 2009 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) The Sudanese government says it will invite new aid groups to work in Darfur and let the UN and other agencies expand their operations in the region. The announcement comes two months after Sudan expelled 13 NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders, in the aftermath of the International Criminal Court's indictment of President Omar al-Bashir. The UN's humanitarian chief said he would have preferred if Sudan had reversed the earlier expulsions but was encouraged by the "welcome degree of flexibility." (More United Nations stories.) Report an error