Sudan leader's visa withheld over ceasefire deal

The Sudanese Government has asked the UN to intervene after the US withheld its delegation’s visas, making them contingent on accepting a US-backed ceasefire, reports the Washington Examiner. The US withheld an entry visa for Sudanese Armed Forces leader Abdel Fattah al Burhan, saying it would only provide him with a visa to speak at the UN General Assembly in New York if he agreed to sign a 90-day ceasefire proposal put forward by US negotiators, according to sources speaking to the Sudan Tribune and Reuters. The delegation was made aware of his barring just days before his scheduled speech, sending diplomats scrambling to appeal to the UN. The US imposed restrictions on Burhan and the delegation’s movements last year, requiring them to get approval before travelling anywhere outside a 25-mile radius of Columbus Circle in New York City. The restrictions influenced his decision not to attend the assembly, for the first time since taking power in a coup on 25 October 2021. The restrictions this year appear to be a step up from those imposed last year, barring him from the country altogether. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Reuters that the Secretary-General was ‘deeply concerned’ that a visa hadn’t yet been given to Burhan, and had raised the matter with the US. Burhan penned an op-ed for Foreign Policy magazine on Monday, outlining his plan to end the war, though he implied a military solution couldn’t be the endgame of the conflict and called for a transitional government under civilian control. ‘Peace dictated from the outside does not last,’ he wrote.