Burundi seeks to replace UN envoy after crisis talks

Burundi’s president has asked the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a new envoy less than two weeks after the emissary returned from crisis talks in Bujumbura, according to a letter seen by AFP on Monday.
President Pierre Nkurunziza said in the letter sent last week that Ban and incoming Secretary-General Antonio Guterres should begin consultations on choosing a successor to British diplomat Jamal Benomar.
Last week, Benomar returned empty-handed from talks on the government’s decision to suspend ties with UN rights monitors and its refusal to allow the deployment of a UN police force.
The UN spokesperson Farhan Haq indicated that there would be no search for a new envoy.
“The special adviser continues his work as mandated by the UN Security Council and with the full confidence of the secretary-general,” Haq said.