Sudan suspends foreign ministry undersecretary over WFP expulsions
November 1, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has suspended its undersecretary, Hussein Al-Amin, from duty, sources at the ministry told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.
The sources explained that Al-Amin is accused of “administrative violations,” and an investigative committee has been formed. The suspension is linked to the recent decision to expel two World Food Programme (WFP) officials.
Last week, the Sudanese government expelled WFP Country Director Laurent Bukera and Head of Operations Samantha Katroj.
The sources stated that Al-Amin was ordered to cease his duties until the committee completes its investigation and submits a report.
The move follows a dispute over the procedure for expelling the two WFP officials, whom the government declared persona non grata. The government accused them of “numerous violations” and ignoring several warnings “to stop exceeding humanitarian norms and national sovereignty laws.”
The “Al-Mohaqaq” news site, citing reliable sources, reported that the UN officials’ violations included “celebrating the fall of El Fasher.” However, the core allegations relate to contacts and relationships with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and failing to comply with government requests for equitable food distribution, including to citizens in areas under rebel control.
According to the sources, the Sovereignty Council’s advisory body made the expulsion decision and requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to notify the officials. With the Foreign Minister travelling abroad at the time, Undersecretary Al-Amin handled the matter. Bukera was summoned to the ministry headquarters and informed of the decision by two ambassadors involved in the file, without going into detail.
After implementing the decision, Al-Amin notified both the Sovereignty Council and the Prime Minister. However, the notification reportedly reached the Prime Minister only after the news had become public.
The sources noted that the correct procedure would have been to communicate with the Prime Minister before implementing the decision, as the WFP partners with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and the Prime Minister should have been briefed on the details.
In a statement, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Jamal Malik denied the existence of “an internal crisis at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs… relating to the dismissal of the undersecretary and linking it to the decision to expel the WFP employees.”
Malik stated that such decisions are made through “full coordination between relevant state institutions” and established institutional methods.
He then added that these were “the official procedures which the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation did not follow.”
He clarified that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, like other state institutions, is “subject to the functional structure and hierarchy within the institution.”