Sudan warns UN envoy of expulsion over interference

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Sudan’s army chief General 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.

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.”

The UN official had earlier told the United Nations Security Council in an address 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 October 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.