UN chief shocked by letter from Sudan's army leader

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by a letter on Friday from Sudan's military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said a UN spokesperson, which - sources told Reuters - asked for the UN special envoy in Sudan to be replaced.

"The Secretary-General is proud of the work done by Volker Perthes and reaffirms his full confidence in his Special Representative," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. 

Burhan wrote to Guterres on Friday asking him to replace his envoy Perthes, sources in the Sudanese presidency said.

The sources did not give details but Perthes, who was appointed in 2021, had pushed a political transition to civilian rule that some in the army opposed.

Meanwhile, Sudan's army called on Friday for reservists and retired soldiers to re-enlist amid a deadly conflict with a rival paramilitary and asked the United Nations to change its envoy to the country.

The call to former soldiers to present themselves at their nearest military base looked aimed at strengthening the army in its battle with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary, but may add fuel to the conflict days into a truce.

Sporadic fighting has continued all week, though the ceasefire monitors Saudi Arabia and the United States said earlier on Friday that compliance was improving, but the army moves may indicate it is gearing up for a long conflict.

An army spokesperson said enlistment would be voluntary. Sudan's existing armed forces law says, however, that retired soldiers remain as reservists, eligible for compulsory re-enlistment. That does not include those who only did Sudan's mandatory two-year military service.