Diplomatic Spat

Sudan has expelled the European Commission envoy and the Canadian charge d'affaires from the country, according to western officials.

The EU Commission said its envoy, Kent Degerfelt, has been expelled while the Canadian embassy in Khartoum confirmed that Daniel Boon, its chief of mission, was also asked to leave.

Earlier on Thursday, the official SUNA news agency reported that the two were being told to leave for "interfering" in the country's affairs.

"Sudan has summoned the envoy of the European Commission and the Canadian charge d'affaires and informed them they were considered persona non grata because they interfered in Sudanese affairs," foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadek told SUNA.

The exact reasons for their expulsion were not immediately clear.

"We have received a letter informing the head of the delegation that he should leave," EU Commission spokeswoman Antonia Mochan said in a statement. "We are trying to resolve the situation," she added, without giving further details.

Frequent tensions

Khartoum has often had strained diplomatic relations with the west since many western countries have been critical of the Sudanese government's role in the war-torn Darfur region. This week, government forces attacked the region's most volatile camp to flush out rebels who they say are responsible for recent attacks on police.

In October 2006, the Sudanese government expelled top UN envoy Jan Pronk for criticizing its actions in Darfur.

The war in the western Sudanese region erupted in February 2003 when rebels from minority tribes took up arms to demand an equal share of the country's national resources, prompting a heavy-handed crackdown from government forces and proxy militia. The African Union force in Darfur has failed to calm the violence despite a peace deal in 2006.

According to UN estimates, at least 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced by the combined effect of war and famine since the conflict erupted.