Sudan expels UN envoy

KHARTOUM-The top UN official in Sudan recently accused the army of mobilising Arab militias after suffering major losses in fighting in Darfur.

Now the government has struck back-ordering the envoy to leave the country within three days. The order issued on Sunday 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 a posting October 14, 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.”And on Sunday, 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.Nampa-APThe order issued on Sunday 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 a posting October 14, 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.”And on Sunday, 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.Nampa-AP