Outcry in Sudan as US reportedly holds al-Burhan’s UN visa over truce plan

Media reports say US withholds army chief’s visa to pressure him into accepting a 90-day truce in Sudan’s civil war.

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has been Sudan's de facto leader since 2019 and since then has led a coup against Sudan's civilian leaders with the commander of the RSF paramilitary before fighting his fellow general in a civil war that began in 2023 [File: Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP]

Sudanese activists and journalists have criticised the United States over reports that Washington has withheld a visa from army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan before the United Nations General Assembly in an apparent bid to pressure him into accepting a ceasefire proposal .

Activists took to social media on Wednesday to slam the reported move as “political pressure”, arguing that access to the UN should not be used to influence Khartoum’s position on Sudan’s three-year civil war .

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Neither the Sudanese government nor the US Department of State has commented on the reports.

General al-Burhan, whose army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, was scheduled to address the General Assembly on Thursday in New York. The army chief has spoken at the assembly twice since the war began.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and caused the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises .

The Reuters news agency, citing Sudanese sources, reported on Tuesday that the US was withholding al-Burhan’s visa and had made its issuance contingent on him agreeing to a 90-day ceasefire proposed by Massad Boulos, US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs.

The AFP news agency, quoting two diplomatic sources, also reported that Washington refused to issue the visa. One source called the move a “clear violation of the UN’s agreement with the US” while another said the visa had been “conditioned” on al-Burhan accepting the three-month truce.

‘Political pressure’

Sudan’s UN ambassador, Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith, wrote to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to request the UN’s “immediate intervention” with US authorities, according to Reuters.

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Guterres, said the UN chief was “deeply concerned” that the visa had reportedly not been issued. He told the AFP that the UN Secretariat has urged the US, as host country, to ensure visas were issued in accordance with its obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement and in time for al-Burhan to participate in the General Assembly.

Sudanese activist Mamoun al-Sheikh denounced the US move in a post on Facebook, saying: “Even if the visa is withheld, it will not silence Sudan’s voice.”

Another activist, Sayed Al-Mazaj, described linking the visa to a proposed 90-day ceasefire as “a tool for political pressure”. And in a video posted on X, Sudanese journalist Diaa Al-Din Bilal said barring al-Burhan from New York would not force him to accept the US position and could instead boost his popularity and rally support around him.

Another X user, @Atifazhri, also denounced the US move, noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Gaza, had been granted a visa.

“The issue is double standards – when visas become instruments of political coercion against a sovereign state while far more serious cases are treated differently. International law and justice cannot be applied selectively,” the user wrote.

US questions al-Burhan’s legitimacy

The State Department issued a statement on Tuesday that did not directly address al-Burhan’s visa but called into question his legitimacy. Its spokesman Tommy Pigott said neither the Sudanese army nor the RSF “nor their respective leaders, represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan”.

He added the US would “seek to raise the cost of continued conflict on all belligerents”.

Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs hit back on Wednesday, calling on the US to engage positively with the country’s government. Any peace initiative, it said, must “be grounded in respect for Sudan’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and legitimate national institutions”.

“It must also address the root causes of the war’s continuation — foremost among them, negative foreign interference ,” the ministry added.

Al-Burhan has been Sudan’s de facto leader since 2019 although the African Union and Western powers withdrew recognition after a 2021 coup that he led with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF’s leader, against the civilian leadership.

He has rejected externally imposed ceasefires, arguing that earlier pauses in the fighting benefitted the paramilitary group.

The US has also refused visas to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and some members of Iran’s delegation to the UN.

媒体报道称，美国扣留陆军总司令的签证，以迫使他接受苏丹内战90天的停火协议。

自 2019 年以来，苏丹陆军总司令阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·布尔汉一直是苏丹的实际领导人，此后他与快速支援部队准军事部队指挥官一起发动政变，推翻了苏丹的文职领导人，随后与他的同僚将军在 2023 年爆发的内战中交战。[图片：Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP]

有报道称，华盛顿在联合国大会召开前扣留了陆军总司令阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·布尔汉的签证，显然是为了迫使他接受停火提议。对此，苏丹活动人士和记者对此表示批评。

周三，活动人士纷纷在社交媒体上抨击这一报道中的举动是“政治压力”，他们认为不应该利用进入联合国的渠道来影响喀土穆对苏丹三年内战的立场。

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列表 3/4：苏丹科尔多凡地区新增流离失所者超过 20 万人

医疗组织称，苏丹科尔多凡州遭叛军袭击，数十人丧生（名单4/4）。

苏丹政府和美国国务院均未对此事发表评论。

自2023年4月以来，布尔汉将军的军队一直在与准军事组织快速支援部队（RSF）作战。他原定于周四在纽约向联合国大会发表讲话。自战争爆发以来，这位陆军参谋长已两次在联合国大会上发言。

这场冲突已造成数万人死亡，并引发了世界上最严重的饥饿和流离失所危机。

路透社援引苏丹消息人士的话报道称，美国扣留了布尔汉的签证，并要求他同意美国负责阿拉伯和非洲事务的高级顾问马萨德·布洛斯提出的为期 90 天的停火协议，以此作为发放签证的条件。

法新社援引两位外交消息人士的话报道称，华盛顿拒绝签发签证。一位消息人士称此举“明显违反了联合国与美国达成的协议”，另一位消息人士则表示，签发签证的“条件”是布尔汉接受为期三个月的停火协议。

“政治压力”

据路透社报道，苏丹常驻联合国代表哈里斯·伊德里斯·哈里斯致信联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯，请求联合国“立即介入”美国当局的事务。

古特雷斯的发言人斯特凡·杜加里克表示，联合国秘书长对据报道签证尚未签发一事“深表关切”。他告诉法新社，联合国秘书处已敦促东道国美国确保按照《联合国总部协定》规定的义务及时签发签证，以便布尔汉能够参加联合国大会。

苏丹活动家马蒙·谢赫在脸书上发帖谴责美国的举动，称：“即使签证被扣留，也无法让苏丹的声音噤声。”

另一位活动人士赛义德·马扎吉（Sayed Al-Mazaj）称，将签证与拟议的90天停火挂钩是“一种政治施压手段”。苏丹记者迪亚·丁·比拉尔（Diaa Al-Din Bilal）在X网站上发布的一段视频中表示，禁止布尔汉入境纽约并不会迫使他接受美国的立场，反而可能提升他的声望，并让他获得更多支持。

另一位 X 用户 @Atifazhri 也谴责了美国的这一举动，并指出以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡因在加沙犯下战争罪行而被国际刑事法院通缉，却获得了签证。

“问题在于双重标准——签证沦为对主权国家进行政治胁迫的工具，而更为严重的案件却得到不同的对待。国际法和正义不能选择性地适用，”该用户写道。

美国质疑布尔汉的合法性

美国国务院周二发表声明，虽然没有直接提及布尔汉的签证问题，但对其合法性提出了质疑。国务院发言人汤米·皮戈特表示，苏丹军队、快速支援部队及其各自的领导人“都不能代表苏丹合法的、符合宪法的政府”。

他还补充说，美国将“寻求提高所有交战国继续冲突的成本”。

苏丹外交部周三予以反驳，呼吁美国与苏丹政府进行积极接触。苏丹外交部表示，任何和平倡议都必须“建立在尊重苏丹主权、统一、领土完整和合法国家机构的基础上”。

该部还补充说：“还必须解决战争持续的根源问题——其中最重要的是外国的负面干涉。”

自 2019 年以来，布尔汉一直是苏丹的实际领导人，尽管在 2021 年他与快速支援部队领导人穆罕默德·哈姆丹·达加洛领导的政变推翻文职领导层后，非洲联盟和西方国家撤回了对他的承认。

他拒绝接受外部强加的停火协议，认为之前的停火对准军事组织有利。

美国还拒绝向巴勒斯坦权力机构主席马哈茂德·阿巴斯和伊朗驻联合国代表团的部分成员发放签证。