NEW YORK, United States: The United States has reportedly not issued Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al Burhan an entry visa ahead of his scheduled appearance at the 81st United Nations General Assembly, with Sudan asking the UN to intervene in the dispute.
The development was reported on September 22, 2026, after Sudan’s UN Ambassador Al Harith Idriss Al Harith sent a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres requesting what he described as “immediate intervention” with US authorities to secure the visa.
According to Sudanese diplomatic and Western sources cited by Reuters, the visa appears to be linked to Burhan’s position on a proposed 90 day ceasefire put forward by Massad Boulos, the US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs. Sudan’s army had raised reservations about the proposal during the summer.
Neither the US State Department nor Sudanese authorities had immediately responded to requests for comment, according to Reuters.
The dispute comes as Burhan is scheduled to address the General Assembly during the high level week in New York. The UN’s general debate for the 81st session runs from September 22 to 26 and resumes on September 28.
In his September 21 letter to Guterres, Sudan’s UN ambassador warned that the absence of a visa could prevent the country’s head of state from personally attending the General Assembly.
“Should this situation persist, it would effectively prevent the Head of State of a Member State of the United Nations from participating in person in the work of the General Assembly,” the letter said.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the UN Secretariat had already raised the issue with Washington.
“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned that a visa has reportedly not yet been issued to the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of the Sudan.”
“The Secretariat immediately raised the matter with the United States authorities and continues to engage with them.”
Burhan has served as Sudan’s de facto leader since 2019. He led a 2021 military takeover alongside Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF. The African Union and Western powers withdrew recognition following the coup, although Burhan has continued to represent Sudan at the UN General Assembly.
Sudan has been engulfed in war since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF. The conflict has produced a vast humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations describing it as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Hemedti has established a rival administration, although it has faced difficulties gaining international legitimacy.
Washington has been involved in diplomatic efforts to seek an end to the conflict through the so called Quad framework, which also includes the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The four countries are regarded as having significant influence over the parties and regional dynamics surrounding the Sudan conflict.
Burhan has rejected the idea that outside actors should dictate the course of Sudan’s war. In an article published by Foreign Policy on Monday, he argued that previous pauses in fighting had given the RSF and its supporters opportunities to regroup.
“Ceasefires have collapsed over the course of this war because they were written about Sudan without Sudan,” he wrote.
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