U.N. envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk prepared to leave Khartoum on Monday, Reuters reported. Sunday's order to expel the most powerful U.N. official in Sudan has Pronk packing his things to leave after more than two years at the head of a difficult mission in a war-torn country and observers saying the move exacerbates existing tensions. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Sudan's order to expel Pronk "unfortunate in the extreme," and said she intended to discuss it with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. "The situation in Darfur has been deteriorating and the international community needs very much to be able to act there," Rice said at a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei.
