Sudan’s military ruler demanded in a letter to the U.N. secretary general that the U.N. envoy to his country be removed, officials said Saturday. The U.N. chief was “shocked” by the letter, a spokesman said.
The envoy, Volker Perthes, has been a key mediator in Sudan, first during the country’s fitful attempts to transition to democracy and then after worsening tensions between military rivals exploded into open fighting last month.
The fighting pits troops loyal to military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan against a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, headed by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.
Burhan’s letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was received Friday.
“The Secretary-General is shocked by the letter he received this morning,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “The Secretary-General is proud of the work done by Volker Perthes and reaffirms his full confidence in his Special Representative.”
Dujarric didn’t reveal the contents of the letter. A senior
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