Sudan govt suspends all UN mission work in Darfur

Sudan has suspended the work of a UN mission in its violent Darfur region after accusing the world body of transporting a rebel leader who opposes a recent peace deal, a Sudanese official said today.

Sudan has suspended the work of a UN mission in its violent Darfur region after accusing the world body of transporting a rebel leader who opposes a recent peace deal, a Sudanese official said today.

‘‘The suspension applies for all of Darfur and this will continue until we get an explanation,’’ said Foreign Ministry spokesman Jamal Ibrahim.

He said the ban was imposed because a UN helicopter had moved rebel leader Suleiman Adam Jamous, who rejects a peace deal signed on May 5 without consulting the government.

It excludes two bodies affiliated to the UN mission, the World Food Programme and the UN children’s agency (UNICEF), Ibrahim said.

A UN spokeswoman said the mission had not received any formal communication from the government.

In recent months UN relations with the government has been strained as Khartoum has resisted international pressure for a UN takeover of the struggling African Union mission monitoring a shaky truce in Darfur.