The U.S. State Department on Thursday called on Sudan’s military
junta, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to step aside and make
way for a peaceful civilian-led transition.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Head of Sudan's military junta |
The United States said this as protesters in Khartoum kept up demands
for the country’s transitional military council to hand over power to
civilians.
“The will of the Sudanese people is clear: it is time to move toward a
transitional government that is inclusive and respectful of human
rights and the rule of law,” department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said
in a statement.
The statement appeared to clarify the U.S. position toward the
military council’s hold on the country, after Sudanese President Omar
al-Bashir was ousted on April 11 after weeks of mass protests.
A senior State Department official said U.S. Deputy Assistant
Secretary Makila James would hold talks in Khartoum over the weekend, to
assess the situation on the ground.
The official, speaking to reporters on background, described the
situation in Sudan as “extremely fluid” and said it was important to
avoid a “quagmire of endless deliberations” over who should lead an
interim civilian authority.
Demonstrators have said they will not cease until the transitional
military council transfers power to civilian-led authorities and
elections are held.
Bashir, who faces arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court
over accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s
Darfur region, was moved this week to a high-security prison in Khartoum
from the presidential residence.
Ortagus said Sudan remained labelled by the U.S. as a state sponsor
of terrorism and Washington’s policies toward it would be based on “our
assessment of events on the ground and the actions of transitional
authorities.”
The State Department official said none of the members of the military council were under U.S. sanctions.
Sudan was designated a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993 under
former U.S. President Bill Clinton, cutting it off from financial
markets and strangling its economy.
Washington lifted a 20-year trade embargo against Sudan in 2017 and
was in the process of discussions on removing it from the sponsor of
terrorism list when the military stepped in on April 11 to depose
Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years.
The Trump administration suspended the next round of the talks, scheduled for the end of April, after the military took control.
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