UNITED NATIONS, Oct 22: The United Nations confirmed on Sunday that Sudan has asked UN envoy Jan Pronk to leave the country, and said UN chief Kofi Annan has asked his special representative to return to New York for consultations.

“The secretary-general received this morning a letter from the government of Sudan requesting him to withdraw his Special Representative, Mr Jan Pronk, from the Republic of the Sudan,” Annan’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement.

“The secretary-general is reviewing the letter and has, in the meantime, requested Mr Pronk to come to New York for consultations,” Dujarric said.

Khartoum on Sunday gave the Pronk three days to leave the country, marking a new low in relations soured by the row over the world body’s proposed role in war-torn Darfur.

The outspoken UN envoy has prompted the ire of Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir’s regime by criticising its handling of the crisis in Darfur and pushing for the deployment of UN peacekeepers there.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Aug 31 calling for the deployment of up to 20,000 peacekeepers to replace an embattled African Union contingent that has failed to restore peace and stability in Darfur.—AFP