Sudan foreign minister slams US over visa block on army chief

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim criticized the United States Monday for failing to issue a visa to Army Chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan to attend the U.N. General Assembly, while calling for an end to foreign support fueling the country’s civil war.

“The host country prevented this by failing to issue the appropriate visa for His Excellency to participate in the high-level segment,” Foreign Minister Ibrahim told the General Assembly.

The United States had withheld Burhan’s visa amid disagreements over a proposed ceasefire aimed at halting the war between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to people familiar with the matter.

Ibrahim also called for an end to the flow of weapons, ammunition and foreign fighters into Sudan and said weapons should remain exclusively under state control.

“The just solution in Sudan, which ensures that the conflict does not reignite, requires halting the continuous foreign interventions,” said Ibrahim.

"Their disarmament is necessary, and weapons should remain exclusively under the control of the state."

Sudan has been engulfed in war between the army and the RSF since April 2023.

A U.N.-backed investigation this month found that foreign support networks have supplied fighters, weapons and military technology that have helped sustain the conflict, which has displaced millions of people.