The Sudanese government warned Washington Wednesday that relief operations in the restive western region of Darfur would be affected if it tried to turn the crisis there into a "political issue." Commenting on the US Congress's decision to hold hearings into the crisis, which the United Nations has described as the world's worst, State Humanitarian Affairs Minister Mohamed Yusuf Abdullah told reporters that relief operations would "be impaired if the Darfur problem is turned into a political issue." He also warned aid organizations themselves not to take positions on the civil war in the region between rebel groups drawn from indigenous non-Arab ethnic minorities, and government troops and their Arab militia allies.

Political disagreements among relief groups "would greatly harm their performance and the affected people will be harmed likewise," the minister warned.

Several relief organisations have accused the Arab militias of terrorising the population, prompting the government to try to distance itself from their actions.

Khartoum has faced mounting criticism from Western governments over the obstacles it has placed in the way of foreign missions wanting to visit Darfur to assess the situation on the ground.

Abdullah said the government had agreed to open new distribution centres outside the capitals of the three states that make up Darfur to speed up aid delivery.

The minister identified the new centres as Juldu, Olu and Roky Ru in the eastern part of the central Jebel Marra massif and Ambru,Tina and Kornoi in North Darfur State.

He accused anti-government rebels of killing a Darfur dignitary as he headed a food aid delivery in Ambru, in what he charged was a breach of a requirement in an April 8 ceasefire agreement for relief workers to be protected.

Abullah identified the dignitary as the "king" of Ambru, Abdel Rahman Ali Mohamadain, a tribal leader from the Zaghawa minority, which along with the Fur and Maasalit has provided much of the support for the rebels.

According to the United Nations, since the start of the Darfur rebellion in February last year, well over a million people have fled their homes, with 95 000 of them taking refuge in neighbouring Chad. - Sapa-AFP