U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named Pakistani diplomat Ashraf Qazi as his new special representative to Sudan.
Mr. Ban made the announcement Tuesday at a news conference with the south Sudan President Salva Kiir in Juba, the southern Sudanese capital.
Qazi was chosen to replace Jan Pronk, who was expelled last year after criticizing Sudanese army actions in war-torn Darfur.
The secretary-general praised Qazi for his wide and extensive diplomatic skill. Qazi currently serves as the U.N. envoy to Iraq.
Mr. Ban's stop in Juba is part of a six-day trip in which he will also visit Libya and Chad.
More than four years of fighting between rebels, the government and militia groups has killed an estimated 200,000 people and displaced more than two million others.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
