Aid agencies 'must go back to Darfur'

The violence in Darfur and inaction in the face of its worsening humanitarian crisis are "not acceptable", President Barack Obama said.

At a meeting in Washington with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, he said he wanted to send a strong and unified message with the UN to bring peace and security to the region.

Sudan's government expelled aid groups from Darfur after President Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. He accused the agencies of co-operating with the court.

"We need to be able to get those humanitarian organisations back on the ground," Mr Obama said.

The US Embassy in Sudan authorised nonessential staff and family to leave the country.