Somalia Foreign Ministry Declares UN Special Envoy 'Persona Non-Grata'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A UN compound was shelled Tuesday in Mogadishu and two UN staff members were injured. UN Special Representative Nicholas Haysom has strongly condemned the attack which "may amount to a violation of international humanitarian law."

The Somali Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that UN Special Representative Nicholas Haysom had become a 'persona non-grata,' indicating that he was no longer welcome in the country.

"Somali notifies UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres that the United Nations envoy Nicholas Haysom is persona non-grata in the country and cannot operate," the statement said, quoted by the Garowe Online newspaper.

The ministry accused the envoy of meddling in the country's sovereign affairs and "blatantly violating protocols."

Haysom has been occupying the post of the UN special envoy for Somalia since September 2018.

READ MORE: Somali Ambassador to UN Killed in Attack on Mogadishu Hotel