Darfur crisis on brink of deepening: US envoy

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan's war-ravaged region of Darfur is "on the brink of deepening," special US envoy Scott Gration said on Saturday.

"I came away very concerned about what I saw and believe that we are on the brink of a deepening crisis in Darfur," he said, a month to the day after the government expelled international aid agencies in protest at an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Beshir for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

Gration, speaking to journalists after visiting the Zam Zam displaced persons camp in northern Darfur, said it was imperative to get assistance into the country "so that these people don't die and they don't incur any more suffering."

Beshir expelled 13 aid groups from Darfur after the International Criminal Court issued the warrant for him on March 4.

The agencies distributed food, offered medical care and provided access to water to some 2.7 million people displaced by the civil war in Darfur.

Gration began his visit on Thursday with an appeal for stronger relations with Khartoum.

"The United States and Sudan want to be partners and so we are looking for opportunities for us to build a stronger bilateral relationship," he said.

US President Barack Obama had said his envoy will try to kickstart discussions between rebels and the government in order to end the conflict that has killed at least 300,000 people since 2003.

The Sudan government puts the death toll from the six-year war at 10,000.

Obama, speaking after meeting Gration on Monday, said he hoped to find a way for humanitarian workers to resume their work in Darfur.

"We have to figure out a mechanism to get those NGOs back in place, to reverse that decision, or to find some mechanism whereby we avert an enormous humanitarian crisis," Obama said.

The Darfur question has garnered much attention in the United States, where groups such as "Save Darfur" are pushing for a solution to the war.

The Sudanese president has remained defiant about his government's decision to expel the aid agencies.

"In one year we will Sudanise all the aid on the ground and we can fill the gap in food distribution within one year because the Sudanese Red Crescent already distributes 45 percent of the food in Darfur," Beshir said during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

The Sudanese government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement signed an agreement in Doha in February aimed at holding peace talks, but the JEM has indicated that it would back out if Khartoum does not authorise the return of the aid agencies.

Sudanese-US relations have been strained since the mid-1990s.

The US had accused Sudan of harbouring Al-Qaeda members and in 1997 imposed sanctions against the country before launching a missile strike on Khartoum one year later.