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UN envoy is told to leave Sudan UN envoy ordered to leave Sudan
(about 9 hours later)
The Sudanese government has given the UN envoy in Khartoum, Jan Pronk, until midday Wednesday to leave the country. The UN's envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, has been recalled to New York for consultations following Khartoum's demand that he leave within three days.
The expulsion was ordered after Mr Pronk wrote on his personal website that Sudan's army had suffered defeats in Darfur and that army morale was low. The expulsion was ordered after Mr Pronk wrote in his blog that Sudan's army had suffered defeats in the Darfur region and its morale was low.
The army said Mr Pronk's remarks amounted to psychological warfare. A UN spokesman said Mr Pronk was expressing his personal views.
A junior minister at Sudan's foreign ministry said Mr Pronk had repeatedly violated UN-Sudan agreements by talking about "sensitive issues". Sudan is resisting strong international pressure to allow UN peacekeepers in to try to end the conflict in Darfur.
Sudan's foreign ministry said Mr Pronk had been informed on midday Sunday that he had 72 hours to leave the country. Sudan's government had given Mr Pronk until midday Wednesday to leave, but with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recalling him for consultations, he will now leave late on Monday.
'Low morale' 'False information'
Sudan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ali Karti, told the BBC that Mr Pronk had violated agreements by "talking about very sensitive issues relating to the comprehensive peace agreement" between north and south Sudan. Sudan's Foreign Minister, Sammani al-Wasila, told the BBC that Mr Pronk had strayed beyond his mandate and lost his neutrality.
On other occasions Mr Pronk had interfered in "matters which don't concern him", Mr Karti said, and had visited areas which, "according to the agreement with the UN, are not part of his mission". The morale in the government army in north Darfur has gone down - some generals have been sacked; soldiers have refused to fight Jan PronkUN envoy to Sudan
The morale in the government army in North Darfur has gone down. Some generals have been sacked; soldiers have refused to fight Jan PronkUN envoy to Sudan "It is not his right to comment," he said. "The second thing, the false information he is giving and the interference in matters - he has got nothing to do with it. Enough is enough.
Last week the Sudanese army called for Mr Pronk to be thrown out, saying he was "waging war against the armed forces". "His role as personal envoy to the secretary general means he should be neutral to help solving problems, rather than creating problems."
On his personal website, Mr Pronk wrote on 14 October that "morale in the government army in North Darfur has gone down. Some generals have been sacked; soldiers have refused to fight". Mr Pronk is not guaranteed an entirely sympathetic hearing from his boss in New York, says the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum.
He said the Sudanese army had lost two major battles recently to rebel groups in Darfur and that Arab militias were being mobilised in violation of UN resolutions. Mr Pronk's website has got him into trouble before, our correspondent says, and he has ignored requests from within the UN to stop writing on it.
Resisting pressure href="/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/africa_enl_1158834734/html/1.stm" onClick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/africa_enl_1158834734/html/1.stm', '1158834846', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=203,height=309,left=312,top=100'); return false;">See which parts of Darfur are too dangerous for aid workers href="javascript: void window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/africa_enl_1158834734/html/1.stm', '1158834846', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=203,height=309,left=312,top=100');" >Enlarge Map He was already at loggerheads with Khartoum over attempts to get UN peacekeepers into Darfur.
This time he angered the Sudanese by writing on his personal website a week ago that "morale in the government army in north Darfur has gone down. Some generals have been sacked; soldiers have refused to fight".
He said the Sudanese army had lost two major battles recently to rebel groups in the western region, and that Arab militias were being mobilised in violation of UN resolutions.
The Janjaweed militias are accused of widespread atrocities, even genocide.The Janjaweed militias are accused of widespread atrocities, even genocide.
Sudan is resisting strong international pressure to allow UN peacekeepers to try and end the conflict in Darfur. The army said Mr Pronk's remarks amounted to psychological warfare and demanded an apology.
Mr Pronk is the UN's most senior figure in the country. Expulsion condemned
href="/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/africa_enl_1158834734/html/1.stm" onClick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/africa_enl_1158834734/html/1.stm', '1158834846', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=203,height=309,left=312,top=100'); return false;">See which parts of Darfur are too dangerous for aid workers href="javascript: void window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/africa_enl_1158834734/html/1.stm', '1158834846', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=203,height=309,left=312,top=100');" >Enlarge Map More than 200,000 people are thought to have died and two million have been displaced as a result of the three-year conflict in Darfur.
Former armed forces spokesman General Mohammed Beshir Suleiman told Sudan's official news agency, Suna, that Mr Pronk's comments were part of the West's continuing efforts to get Sudan to accept UN troops into Darfur. The UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling for 20,000 troops to be sent to Darfur to replace the 7,000 poorly equipped African Union troops who have failed to end the conflict.
More than 200,000 people are thought to have died and two million displaced as a result of the three-year conflict in the Darfur region. The Janjaweed are accused of ethnic cleansing in DarfurBut the BBC's Laura Trevelyan says that UN officials privately acknowledge that all they may be able to do is provide back-up to the AU force.
The UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling for 20,000 troops to be sent to Darfur to replace the 7,000 poorly-equipped African Union troops who have failed to end the conflict. Sudan has said it will not allow UN peacekeepers on its territory, calling it a bid to restore colonial rule.
Britain condemned Mr Pronk's expulsion and urged Sudan to reconsider.
"This step is counter-productive and will contribute nothing to solving the problems of Sudan," said Foreign Office Minister Lord Triesman.
In Brussels, European Union spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said: "The presence of the United Nations is vital to hundreds of thousands of citizens of the Darfur region."
Sudan's official news agency, Suna, said Khartoum remained "committed to co-operate" with the UN, and would work with Mr Pronk's successor.