Kerry Offers Details On Sudan Aid Deal

Some humanitarian aid may be restored in Darfur more than a month after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir expelled 13 international aid groups, Sen. John Kerry said Monday.

Al-Bashir expelled 13 international aid groups and three other organizations after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir has denied the charges.

The Sudanese Embassy in Washington says the aid groups expelled from Sudan will not be permitted back in. Sudan will let in other groups, however.

"In some cases, some of the very same people will go back, wearing a different title, but providing the same service. ... They will work it out," Kerry (D-MA) tells NPR's Robert Siegel. "The key is to get the humanitarian assistance back as fast as possible up to 100 percent capacity, and under the agreement there is a joint evaluation by the United States and the government of Sudan."

The conflict began in 2003 when mostly ethnic African rebels took up arms against the government, complaining of neglect and discrimination. The United Nations has said up to 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million others have been displaced in the conflict.