On Monday the Sudanese government threatened to expel the US diplomatic mission if Washington continued to promote the existence of famine in Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Abyei.

The minister of internal affairs, Sayed Mahmoud said in a press statement that he informed the US embassy in Khartoum, 'if they do not stop referring to famine in the three areas we will expel them.'

He said the US insistence on calling the situation famine 'is an attempt to pressure the government and weaken its image in the world.'

Mahmoud said 'Washington is trying to bring about the separation of a new Sudan, by subordinating South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Abyei to South Sudan.'