Sudan: UN envoy declared persona non grata

The Sudanese government has declared UN envoy Volker Perthes "persona non grata" two weeks after the army chief accused him of fueling internal conflicts and called for his dismissal.

"The Government of the Republic of Sudan has notified the Secretary General of the United Nations that it has declared Mr. Volker Perthes (...) persona non grata as of today," the Sudanese ministry said in a statement. Foreign Affairs.

Volker Perthes was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday for a series of diplomatic talks, the UN announced earlier on Twitter.Since late last year, Perthes and the UN mission he leads in Sudan have been the target of military protests denouncing foreign intervention.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly defended Perthes, facing an outpouring of anger after criticizing Sudan's two warring party leaders as the two-month-old conflict eludes efforts to broker a ceasefire -humanitarian fire.

In a letter addressed to the UN, General Burhane notably accused Volker Perthes of having "concealed" in his reports the explosive situation in Khartoum before the outbreak of hostilities. Without these "lies", General "Daglo would not have launched his military operations", he argued.

The fighting broke out the day the two rival generals were to meet for negotiations aimed at integrating the FSR into the regular army, as the UN had been calling for for weeks. While many observers predicted the failure of these discussions, Volker Perthes proclaimed his “optimism”. He also admitted to being “taken by surprise” the day the war broke out.

Volker Perthes was in New York when General Burhane sent his accusatory letter, and authorities have not issued visas to foreign nationals since the start of the war.This development comes as the army and paramilitaries at war in Sudan "agreed" on Friday on a ceasefire. The truce was negotiated by Saudi and American mediators and announced by Saudi Arabia, where the talks are being held.

From this Saturday at 6 a.m., the parties pledged to cease violence for the duration of the truce and to allow “the arrival of humanitarian aid throughout the country”. Washington and Riyadh say they share the "frustration" of the Sudanese after the non-respect of previous truces.

Friday's announcement comes a day after a visit to Saudi Arabia by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who assured that Washington and Riyadh were keen to "continue their strong cooperation" and "end the fighting in Sudan" .The two mediators added that "this truce was proposed to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid, end the violence and help restore confidence between the two parties, so as to allow the resumption of negotiations in Jeddah".

"If the two sides do not respect the 24-hour truce, mediators should consider postponing the Jeddah talks," Riyadh and Washington warned.On June 1, the United States and Saudi Arabia announced the suspension of negotiations due to repeated violations of the ceasefire by both sides.