Sudan expels UN envoy
The top UN official in Sudan, who accused the army of mobilising Arab militias, has been ordered to leave the country within three days.
The order issued yesterday against Jan Pronk is the most serious dispute so far between the UN and the Khartoum government, which has refused to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur to maintain order and protect civilians from killings, rapes and other atrocities.
The outspoken Pronk, a former Dutch politician and diplomat, levelled the charge in his personal web blog. In an October 14 posting, Pronk said Sudan's military had suffered heavy losses in recent fighting with rebels in northern Darfur.
"Reports speak about hundreds of casualties in each of the two battles, many wounded soldiers and many taken as prisoner," he said.
Pronk also said the government was responding to the deteriorating situation "by directing more troops and equipment from elsewhere to the region and by mobilising Arab militia" accused of horrific atrocities.
"This is a dangerous development. Security Council resolutions which forbid armed mobilisation are being violated," he added.
Since Thursday, the Sudanese military had been denouncing Pronk for the allegations, branding them "psychological warfare against the Sudanese army".
Yesterday, the Foreign Ministry informed the United Nations that Pronk had 72 hours to leave the country.
In a statement distributed by the official Sudan News Agency, the ministry accused Pronk of demonstrating "enmity to the Sudanese government and the armed forces" and of involvement in unspecified activities "that are incompatible with his mission".
In New York, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Kofi Annan had received a letter from the Sudanese government asking that Pronk be removed from the post.
"The secretary-general is studying the letter and has in the meantime requested that Mr Pronk come to New York for consultations," Dujarric said.
Even before the blog appeared, Sudan's government had been at odds with Pronk over Western efforts to get Sudan to allow a UN force of 20,000 troops to take over peacekeeping in Darfur from a 7,000-member African Union force.
Violence has risen dramatically in recent weeks in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in more than three years of fighting.
UN officials have said the African Union force is too small and ill-equipped to cope with the violence and protect civilians from rape, murder and pillage.
However, president Omar al-Bashir has rejected a UN peacekeeping force, branding it as simply a bid to restore colonial rule.
Despite the move against Pronk, the official news agency said Khartoum was "committed to cooperate" with the UN and would work with a new envoy "in accordance with signed treaties with the UN and the current principles of international law".
Still, the order is expected to have a chilling effect on international efforts to protect civilians in Darfur and lobby the government to accept UN peacekeepers.
In Geneva, Switzerland, UN spokeswoman Marie Heuze noted that Pronk's comments were on his private blog and reflect "only his personal views".
Britain condemned the decision and urged the Sudanese to reconsider.
"This step is counterproductive and will contribute nothing to solving the problems of Sudan," said Lord Triesman, Foreign Office minister for African issues.
In Brussels, European Union spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said the presence of the United Nations was vital to hundreds of thousands of citizens of the Darfur region.
Last June, the Sudanese suspended the work of all UN missions in the Darfur except Unicef and the World Food Programme after claiming the UN had transported a rebel leader in violation of agreements.
The next day, the government reversed the decision following a meeting between a representative of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry and the United Nations.
Darfur, a largely arid plateau in western Sudan, has been in turmoil since February 2003, when ethnic African tribes rebelled after years of neglect by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.
The government responded with a military campaign in which pro-government Arab militia, the janjaweed, are alleged to have committed widespread atrocities. Khartoum denies supporting the janjaweed.
A peace deal this year was signed by the Sudanese government and the main rebel group, the Sudanese Liberation Movement.
However, a breakaway faction and another rebel group rejected the deal and fighting has escalated, causing increasing numbers of aid workers to withdraw, leaving the refugees without food and medicine.
Pronk, 66, served several terms in the Dutch parliament and served in the Dutch Cabinet under two prime ministers. He was appointed as UN special representative for Sudan in June 2004.
