The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sudan declared Volker Perthes, the United Nations envoy and the head of the UN mission in the country, persona non grata.
"The Government of the Republic of Sudan has notified the UN Secretary-General of the declaration of the persona non grata of its representative and head of the Sudan Interim Assistance Mission [UNITAMS], Mr. Volker Perthes," the foreign office said in a statement.
The declaration is the outcome of a confrontation between the UN Security Council and Khartoum; on May 26 the Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to replace his representative in the country.
According to Qatar media, al-Burhan noted that "Perthes' presence at the head of the UN mission in Sudan does not contribute to the fulfillment of its tasks and has become a source of negative consequences for the UN."
"Pertes misled the UN by claiming that there was a consensus among the Sudanese parties on a framework agreement for a solution in the country," al-Burhan was quoted by the media.
Antonio Guterres was “shocked,” according to his spokesman, by a letter received from Sudan’s military ruler and "confirmed his full confidence in the UN Special Representative."
In early June, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UNITAMS headed by Perthes for six months. Established in June 2020 to support Sudan’s democratic transition after the fall of ruler Omar al-Bashir a year earlier, UNITAMS’s mandate had previously been renewed annually for a year.
Since April 15, fighting between the Rapid Support Forces under the command of Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo and the regular army has gripped Khartoum and the western region of Darfur, despite a series of truces.
According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization, 702 people have been killed and 5,687 wounded in the clashes.