US Denies Visa for Sudan Army Chief To Attend UN Assembly

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US authorities have denied a visa to Sudan’s de facto head of state and army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, preventing him from travelling to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly, two diplomatic sources told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday, September 22.

General Burhan, whose forces have fought the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, had been scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday.

He had already attended the high-level week of the General Assembly twice since the war in Sudan began.

One of the diplomatic sources described Washington’s refusal to allow Burhan into the United States as an “obvious violation” of the agreement between the UN and the US.

Another source said the US administration, which has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Sudan, had made the granting of a visa conditional on Burhan accepting a three-month truce.

Khartoum has rejected the proposal, arguing that a ceasefire would allow the RSF to regroup and launch new attacks.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “deep concern” over the failure to issue Burhan a visa, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“The Secretary-General calls on the host country to ensure that visas are issued in accordance with its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement, in time to allow the President of Sudan, Mr Burhan, to participate in person in the work of the General Assembly,” Stéphane Dujarric said.

The “full participation of all delegations in the work” of the General Assembly is “essential for the proper functioning” of the United Nations, Dujarric said, adding that the UN Secretariat had immediately raised the matter with US authorities and continued discussions with them.

The agreement under which the UN established its headquarters in New York requires US authorities not to obstruct the movement of representatives of member states.

Sudan is represented at the UN in New York by Foreign Minister Mohieldin Salem.

The United States, together with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, has sought to persuade Burhan and his former close ally, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to enter negotiations.

Burhan’s internationally recognised government emerged from a military coup in 2021, when Dagalo remained his close deputy. The two men later became embroiled in a power struggle.

The war between the forces of the two men has killed at least 200,000 people since 2023, according to what humanitarian organisations describe as conservative estimates. The conflict has also triggered one of the world’s worst crises involving mass displacement of civilians and hunger.

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