Sudan threatens to expel UN envoy over ‘interference’

By Talal Ismail

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Sudan’s army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan has threatened to expel the head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, over “blatant interference” in the country’s affairs.

In statements carried by the state news agency SUNA, al-Burhan, who heads the ruling Sovereign Council, called on the UN official to "stop overstepping the mandate of the UN mission and blatant interference in Sudanese affairs".

The statement warned that Perthes’ actions "will lead to his expulsion from the country."

Al-Burhan also urged the UN and the African Union “to facilitate dialogue between the Sudanese and to avoid violating their mandate.”

While al-Burhan did not elaborate about his fury over Perthes, the UN official told the United Nations Security Council in an address on Monday that Sudan “has been without a functioning government since the October 25 coup,” and that protests were violently dispersed.

Perthes also warned that the country was heading towards economic and security collapse.

Sudan has been in turmoil since Oct. 25, 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency, in a move decried by political groups as a “military coup”.

Prior to the military takeover, Sudan was governed by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials tasked with overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara