US denies visa for Sudan’s de facto leader due to address UN

By Rédaction Africanews with AFP

Sources on Tuesday said the United States has refused to give Sudan’s de facto leader a visa to travel to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, whose army has fought the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since 2023, was scheduled to address the gathering on Wednesday.

Sudanese and Western sources said Washington had linked the issuing of a visa to his acceptance of a 90-day ceasefire.

Al-Burhan has addressed the assembly before, twice since the war broke out.

Sudan’s UN ambassador has urged the world body to intervene, arguing that failure to allow al-Burhan to travel to New York prevents the member state leader from participating in person.

A spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” that the visa had not been issued and was engaging with Washington on the issue.

One diplomatic source said withholding the entry permit was a “violation of the UN’s agreement with the US”.

The visa standoff comes as relations between Washington and Khartoum deteriorate amid efforts to end the war, and threatens to deepen tensions between them.

It is being reported that the Sudanese foreign minister may address the UN instead of al-Burhan.