WordBulletin

World Bulletin / News Desk 

Sudan on Wednesday expelled a Norwegian diplomat, the foreign ministry said, after Oslo told a Sudanese diplomat to leave the previous day over suspicions he was spying on refugees from the African country.

Sudan's foreign ministry said it had summoned the Norwegian ambassador in Khartoum to inform him of the expulsion. It did not name the diplomat.

"The foreign ministry told the Norwegian ambassador it hoped the incident would not harm bilateral ties," the ministry said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Norway expelled a Sudanese diplomat it said had received information from a 38-year old Sudanese man it had arrested earlier for spying on refugees.

The Sudanese ambassador in Norway, Onoor Ahmed, denied his country was involved in such spying, national broadcaster NRK reported.

Sudan's relations with Germany were strained last month after the German embassy in Khartoum was stormed and torched in protests against a film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

Germany has since called off a conference meant to drum up investment for Sudan and South Sudan, which had been scheduled to take place this month in Berlin.