Burhan, Perthes discuss row over UN briefing about Sudan

April 3, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The head of the Sovereign Council and the UN special envoy to Sudan met Sunday to discuss the row triggered by a recent briefing to the Security Council.

Referring to the briefing by Volker Perthes before the Security Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said three days ago “We saw him talking and lying publicly” before threatening to expel him.

In a statement Sunday, the Sovereign Council said al-Burhan received Perthes at his request.

“The meeting dealt with the briefing given by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the Security Council on the situation in Sudan,” said the Sovereign Council in a statement released after the meeting.

According to the statement, al-Burhan told Perthes that the briefing was not comprehensive and ignored the positive indicators that occurred on the ground.

He further called on the UNITAMS to stand at the same distance from all parties in the political arena, including the army.

In his briefing, the UNITAMS head said that the country has been without a government since the coup. He mentioned the continued anti-coup protests and violent repression against demonstrators. Also, he pointed to the negative impact of the military coup on the economic, security and humanitarian situations.

He further spoke about the political process he launched for a Sudanese-led dialogue.

However, he omitted to speak in his briefing about the efforts of the military leaders to end the intercommunal clashes and insecurity in Darfur but the matter was mentioned in his 14-page report of March 2.

The statement said that the representative of the UN secretary-general showed his readiness to review any inaccurate information contained in his report to the Security Council.

Al-Burhan says he is ready to hand over power to an elected government or a transitional cabinet formed at the end of the UN-African Union-facilitated process.

However, he already rejects any reform for the security sector during the transitional period.

While all the political forces including the signatory groups of the Juba Peace Agreement agreed on the importance of this reform, according to the outcome of the consultations conducted by UNITAMS.

(ST)