| Sudan said Wednesday it had closed its embassy in Washington after being unable to find a bank that would handle its financial matters. The Foreign Ministry said the bank that had handled the embassy's transfers from Khartoum for more than 30 years had closed Sudan's account, along with other embassy accounts, in July "because of difficulties it encountered." The ministry statement did not name the bank. The embassy has been the scene of daily demonstrations for several weeks in protest of Sudan's treatment of people in the western Darfur region. The ministry said it asked the U.S. State Department for assistance but "it failed to convince that bank or find another bank." A senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity that efforts were being made to find another bank. The ministry ordered the embassy to close this week because it cannot pay its employees or its utility or other bills. The statement blamed the United States, saying it was the responsibility of the host country to facilitate the mission of embassies. It said if the situation was not resolved after an unspecified period of time, Sudan would "be obliged to take specific measures as necessary." |