Hundreds of Sudanese protesters have demanded the dismissal of the United Nations mission chief, who is working to resolve a political crisis sparked by last year’s military coup.
Wednesday’s protests, outside the mission’s headquarters in the capital Khartoum, were criticizing efforts by UN special representative Volker Perthes, who heads the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission Sudan (UNITAMS).
Many of the protesters were supporters of Islamist groups, and come a day after Islamist leader Mohamed Ali Al-Gizouli accused Perthes of interfering in Sudan’s internal affairs during a seminar titled “the negative impact of the UN mission on the launch of Sudanese dialogue”.
Some protesters on Wednesday said they were angry that the UN were involving the civilian alliance known as the Forces of Freedom and Change in talks.
The rallies come as the UN Security Council mulled over extending the mission’s mandate beyond June 3.
Sudan has been rocked by deepening unrest since an October 25 coup staged by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, which sparked regular anti-coup protests across much of the country.
The power grab derailed a fragile power-sharing agreement between the army and civilians negotiated after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
A violent crackdown on the anti-coup protests has left nearly 100 people killed, according to pro-democracy medics.
In March, Perthes told the UN Security Council that Sudan was heading towards “an economic and security collapse” unless its civilian-led transition was restored.
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