Sudan today ordered the top UN envoy, Jan Pronk, to leave the country within three days.
The order comes after Mr Pronk said that the army's morale was low after suffering two major defeats in the violent Darfur region.
'The government...considers Jan Pronk's mission... in Sudan over and Mr Pronk has to leave Sudanese soil within 72 hours from midday on Sunday,' a Foreign Ministry statement obtained by Reuters said.
'The reason is the latest statements issued by Mr Pronk on his website regarding severe criticism of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the fact that he said the government of Sudan is not implementing the Darfur peace agreement,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig said.
He said the Foreign Ministry met with Mr Pronk on Sunday and informed him of its decision.
The ministry statement said the government would continue to cooperate with the United Nations.
Mr Pronk has had previous problems with the government because of comments he published in a Web log diary carried by his website.
The latest entry said Darfur rebels had beaten the army in two major battles in the last two months.
He said generals had been sacked, morale was low and soldiers were refusing to fight in North Darfur. The army was furious and issued a statement on Friday calling Pronk a danger to the nation's security.
One army source said they were asking President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the commander-in-chief of the army, to expel Mr Pronk.
Al-Sadig said rebels would consider Pronk's comments as encouragement to continue their military campaign.
Mr Pronk has been summoned to New York for consultations with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday.
