Sudan Gives 15 UAE Diplomats 48 Hours to Leave Country

The Sudanese authorities gave 15 employees of the UAE Embassy in Khartoum 48 hours to leave the country and considered them persona non grata.

The official Sudanese News Agency said on Sunday that the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Acting Chargé d'Affaires of the UAE Embassy and informed her of the decision. No other details were revealed.

Hundreds demonstrated during the past two weeks from the mosques of Port Sudan against the UAE, demanding the expulsion of its ambassador after a member of the Sovereignty Council and Al-Burhan’s assistant, Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta, on November 28, publicly accused Abu Dhabi of siding with the Rapid Support Forces in its war against the army.

Since it broke out between the two generals on April 15, the war has resulted in 12,000 deaths, according to what Agence France-Presse reported, citing the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami.

Salami also expressed her concern about the fate of 20 million Sudanese, or more than 40% of the population, whom the UN agency cannot reach due to war conditions. The UN official said, "The situation is catastrophic after eight months of bloody conflict."