The US official stated that this comes within the framework of President Joe Biden’s administration’s efforts to prevent matters in Sudan from sliding into chaos, following the resignation of Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok.
Hamdok stepped down from his position on Sunday amid a political crisis, saying that he had failed to find a middle ground between the military component and the civilian movements leading the protests in the streets.
The US official, who asked not to be named, said that the Biden administration had asked Arab and Gulf countries close to Khartoum to help and mediate in stopping the political deterioration in Sudan.
He acknowledged that the failure of diplomatic efforts with the Sudanese military component would lead to placing Sudan in international isolation, and under severe sanctions that the US Congress might impose soon..
Earlier on Tuesday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that there must be a civilian-led transition in Sudan, amid protests in the country following the measures taken by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on October 25.
On Tuesday, Sudanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse huge crowds that gathered across the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and neighboring cities to demand a civilian government, and to protest the recent killing of demonstrators.
unilateral move warning
Meanwhile, the United States and the European Union called on the Sudanese army, on Tuesday, not to unilaterally appoint a prime minister.
The Troika concerned with Sudan, which includes the United States, Britain and Norway, in addition to the European Union, said that it “will not support a prime minister or a government appointed without the participation of a wide range of civilian stakeholders,” as stated in a joint statement.
The four countries said that they still believed in the democratic transition in Sudan, which was announced in 2019 following mass demonstrations.
“In the absence of progress, we will consider accelerating efforts to hold accountable those who obstruct the democratic process,” she said in a statement.
The Troika called on the European Union to hold elections, the date of which was set according to the democratic transition program in 2023, and to build independent legislative and judicial institutions.
“Any unilateral move to appoint a new prime minister and government would undermine the credibility of these institutions and threaten to plunge the country into conflict,” the statement said.
“To avoid this, we strongly urge stakeholders to commit to an immediate Sudanese-led dialogue facilitated by civil society to address these and other issues related to the transitional period,” he added.
The statement called for “protecting the right of the Sudanese people to assemble peacefully and express their demands.”
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