(AP) 9 hours ago

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Sudan says it will expel a number of international aid workers from the restive western region of Darfur, without specifying how many.

Local media reported earlier this week that six foreign staffers, including employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross, had been told to leave the country.

Foreign Ministry spokesman, Muwaia Khaled told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the aid workers were being deported because of individual "violations," not problems with their organizations.

He did not elaborate on the nature of the offenses.

Relations between aid groups and the Sudanese government have been deteriorating since March 2009, when 11 international organizations were expelled from the country.

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Omer al Bashir has already expelled the heads of some aid agencies. Now the rest are hanging by a thread. Three million people, driven from their land, are dependent on the NGOs .