Sudan · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
United States Withholds Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan Visa Before UN General Assembly Appearance
US withholds entry visa for Burhan ahead of UN General Assembly. Visa decision tied to a US-backed ceasefire plan Sudan refused.
Whether the visa is coercive exploitation or ceasefire conditionality.
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Sudan Horizon
“The United States has failed to force Sudan to declare a 90-day truce, and has therefore resorted to exploiting the international organisation, the United Nations, by withholding an entry visa”Read the original ↗
Reuters
“The issuance of the visa appears to have been made contingent on Burhan agreeing to sign a 90-day ceasefire proposed by US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos”Read the original ↗
Sudan Horizon frames the visa move as American exploitation, while Reuters portrays it as conditional diplomacy over a ceasefire agreement.
Visa Denial Before UN
The United States withheld an entry visa for Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan just days before his scheduled appearance at the United Nations General Assembly, according to a letter from Sudan's UN ambassador calling on the global body to intervene. The issuance of the visa appeared contingent on Burhan agreeing to sign a 90-day ceasefire proposed by US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos, a Sudanese diplomatic source and a Western analyst said.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the secretary-general was "deeply concerned that a visa has reportedly not yet been issued" to the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of the Sudan. Sudan's UN ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith urged Antonio Guterres to seek "immediate intervention" with US authorities, warning that continued rejection would "effectively prevent the Head of State of a Member State of the United Nations from participating in person" in the General Assembly.
State Department and UN
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement that neither the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces nor either of their respective leaders "represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan." Pigott also said the United States and President Trump would "seek to raise the cost of continued conflict" on all belligerents and the networks which fuel the conflict.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the Secretariat "immediately raised the matter with the United States authorities" and continued to engage with them. Sudan's UN ambassador Al-Harith Idris Al-Harit told Reuters that preventing Burhan from attending would violate the UN's obligations toward member states, and the letter asked for the United Nations' "immediate intervention" with US authorities.
Ceasefire Stakes and Pressure
The dispute threatened to deepen tensions between Washington and Sudan's army at a critical moment in the civil war, which the United Nations calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis. US officials made Burhan's attendance contingent on agreeing to a 90-day ceasefire proposed by Massad Boulos, while Sudanese and other sources said Khartoum resisted the plan.
Sudan's UN ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith warned that if the situation persisted it would effectively prevent a head of state from participating in person, and the letter was dated September 21. The impasse came as Burhan was scheduled to address the General Assembly on Thursday, with Reuters reporting that foreign minister Mohieldin Salem would give the address instead if Burhan did not attend.R