Sudan says Expelled UN envoy can return for handover

Oct 30, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The UN’s special envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk, expelled for comments he made on Darfur, will be allowed back to Khartoum to oversee the transfer of his duties, the foreign ministry said Monday.

“Jan Pronk can return to Khartoum for a limited period of time not exceeding a few days to settle his personal affairs, and to hand his duties over to the official who succeeds him in the UN mission and depart thereafter,” the ministry’s spokesman Ali al-Sadek told reporters.

“During that period, Pronk will not be allowed to meet any Sudanese official or international visitors, or to hold press conferences nor travel anywhere outside the capital Khartoum,” Sadek added.

The outspoken Pronk was ordered out of Sudan a week ago after reporting on his personal weblog that the Sudanese army had suffered major losses in fighting against rebels in Darfur.

At least 200,000 people have died as a result of fighting, famine and disease in Darfur in the west of Sudan. More than two million have fled their homes since rebels launched an uprising in early 2003, prompting a scorched earth response from the military and its Janjaweed militia allies.

On Friday, United Nations Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New york that following consultations with Sudanese authorities, Pronk was expected to return to Khartoum next month to “organize an orderly handover” to his deputy before returning to New York “for debriefings and the completion of his mission”.

(AFP)