Sudan declares UN envoy 'persona non grata'

The Sudanese government on Thursday declared UN Special Representative in Sudan Volker Perthes "persona non grata."

"The Government of the Republic of Sudan has notified the Secretary-General of the United Nations of declaring Mr. Volker Perthes, Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Head of the UNITAMS Mission, persona non grata, as of today's date," Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a written statement.

In a letter last month, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the chairman of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council and chief of the armed forces, asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to nominate an alternative candidate to Perthes.

Burhan claimed that Perthes had misinformed in the reports he presented to them, arguing that there was a consensus on the framework agreement signed on Dec. 5, 2022 between the military and civilian groups and that these allegations clearly contradicted the facts.

Claiming that the presence of Perthes had a negative impact on the impression towards the UN, Burhan said the length of time Perthes was at the head of the mission was an indication that UNITAMS did not contribute to the successful transition.

Guterres was shocked by the letter, according to a statement made on the Twitter account of the spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General.

He was proud of the work of Perthes and reaffirmed his full confidence in him in the statement.