CORRECTED: Sudan tells EU, Canadian envoys to leave

Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:30pm EDT
 
[-] Text [+]

Corrects second and third paragraphs to make clear that Canadian envoy not in country; deletes reference to Daniel Boon

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Sudan has told the European Union and Canadian envoys to leave the war-torn African country, Western officials said on Thursday.

The EU Commission said its envoy, Kent Degerfelt, had been ordered out, while an official at the Canadian embassy in Khartoum confirmed that its chief of mission had also been asked to leave.

The Canadian envoy has already left the country and his replacement is not due to arrive until next month.

Sudan's foreign minister declined to comment on the decision.

"We received a letter informing the head of the delegation that he should leave," said Commission spokeswoman Antonia Mochan in Brussels.

"We are trying to resolve the situation," she added, declining to give further details.

The EU has been trying to help end the conflict in Darfur, where this week government forces surrounded and attacked the region's most volatile camp to flush out rebels they say are behind recent attacks on police.

The African Union force in Darfur has failed to stem the violence despite a 2006 peace deal. International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003.

Sudan has a history of difficult relations with Western diplomats, whom it sometimes accuses of meddling with the country's internal affairs. Last year, it expelled Top United Nations envoy to the country, Jan Pronk.

 
A Taliban fighter poses with weapons in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan October 30, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer
Taliban may wait out Washington's "endgame"

Washington's hint of an Afghanistan endgame in saying U.S. troops won't still be there in 2017 might help win over a war-weary public, but there is no guarantee a notoriously patient Taliban won't just wait the Americans out.  Full Article | Full Coverage 

Editor's Choice

A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours.  Slideshow 

Most Popular on Reuters

  • Articles
  • Video
Men transport a pig on a horse cart along a highway on the outskirts of Havana November 26, 2009.  REUTERS/Desmond Boylan
Cubans fear hard times ahead, impatient for change

Cubans are bracing for hard times in 2010 as President Raul Castro slashes imports and cuts government spending to get Cuba out of crisis -- and they are growing impatient with the slow pace of economic reform.  Full Article