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NEW YORK: The United States is withholding a visa for Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ahead of his scheduled UN appearance in a move that Sudanese and other sources say is linked to a US-backed ceasefire proposal that Khartoum has resisted.<\/p>\n
The dispute threatens to deepen tensions between Washington and Sudan\u2019s army at a critical moment in the civil war, which the United Nations calls the world\u2019s largest humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n
A senior Sudanese source said Burhan had postponed his trip to New York but had yet to receive official notice that the visa had been denied.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe in the Sudanese government express our deep regret because this is a violation of the UN Convention and international law,\u201d the source said. \u201cSudan\u2019s government affirms its stance towards peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sudan\u2019s UN ambassador appealed to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to intervene, arguing in a letter that preventing Burhan from attending the General Assembly would violate the UN\u2019s obligations toward \u200cmember states.<\/p>\n
US officials \u200chave made Burhan\u2019s attendance contingent on his agreeing to a 90-day ceasefire proposed by US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos, according to a Sudanese diplomatic source and a Western analyst close to American and Sudanese officials.<\/p>\n
The US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
The impasse represents a nadir in US-Sudan relations since war broke out in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, and comes as Burhan was scheduled to address the General Assembly on Thursday. Another Sudanese source told Reuters that foreign minister Mohieldin Salem would give the address instead. Sudan\u2019s army voiced reservations about the Boulos-proposed ceasefire in July.<\/p>\n
Burhan is unlikely to engage with Boulos\u2019 efforts further if the visa is not granted, the analyst and diplomatic sources said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBurhan rejects this take-it-or-leave-it approach, any proposal is subject to suggestions and changes,\u201d the Sudanese diplomatic source said.<\/p>\n
The letter, addressed to UN \u200cSecretary-General Antonio Guterres and signed by Sudan\u2019s UN Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith, asked for the \u200cUnited Nations\u2019 \u201cimmediate intervention\u201d with US authorities to ensure the issuance of the visa, in the letter dated September 21.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould this situation persist, it would \u200ceffectively prevent the Head of State of a Member State of the United Nations from participating in person in the work \u200cof the General Assembly,\u201d read the letter.<\/p>\n
UN \u2018DEEPLY CONCERNED\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n In a statement sent to Reuters, UN spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric said the secretary-general is \u201cdeeply concerned that a visa has reportedly not yet been issued to the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of the Sudan,\u201d adding that he is engaging with the US on the issue.<\/p>\n Burhan, the head of Sudan\u2019s army, has been the country\u2019s de facto leader since 2019, though the African Union and Western powers \u200cwithdrew recognition after a 2021 coup he led with RSF head Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, against the civilian leadership. Burhan has spoken at the UN General Assembly on Sudan\u2019s behalf since the coup.<\/p>\n The war has created what the United Nations calls the world\u2019s largest humanitarian crisis. Dagalo, known as Hemedti, has set up a rival government that has so far struggled to gain legitimacy.<\/p>\n The United States has made efforts to mediate the conflict within a so-called \u201cQuad\u201d format that also includes the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, countries seen as having the most influence in Sudan.<\/p>\n In a piece in US outlet Foreign Policy published on Monday, Burhan said he would refuse external directives about the war and said previous pauses in fighting had only allowed the RSF and its backers to regroup.<\/p>\n Under the agreement for the United States to host the UN headquarters in New York, it is not supposed to deny visas, though it has denied entry to the head of the Palestinian Authority.<\/p>\n Relations between the US and Sudan\u2019s army have already been strained in recent weeks over a US proposal to extend an existing arms embargo over Sudan\u2019s Darfur region \u2013 the RSF\u2019s stronghold \u2013 to the rest of the country, a move that Burhan\u2019s backers say would disproportionately punish the army. For his part, in a speech sending soldiers off to battle, Dagalo said \u201cit\u2019s time for the rifles to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n Sudan\u2019s civilian prime minister before the coup, Abdalla Hamdok, is in New York this week as part of the General Assembly, along with members of his anti-war coalition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n