US meets Sudanese leaders to reaffirm support for democracy

CAIRO (Reuters) -A U.S. envoy underlined Washington’s support for a democratic transition to civilian rule in Sudan on Saturday during talks with the head of its ruling council and the prime minister, the U.S. embassy in Khartoum said.

It tweeted that Jeffrey Feltman, special envoy for the Horn of Africa, had also urged all sides to recommit to working together to implement Sudan’s constitutional declaration, signed after a 2018-2019 uprising that resulted in the removal of president Omar al-Bashir. Feltman met with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sovereign Council, and his deputy General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Tensions between the civilian and military leaders who now share power have soared in the wake of an attempted military coup in September, which the army said it had foiled. As an economic crisis deepens, a coalition of rebel groups and political parties have aligned themselves with the military, which has accused the civilian governing parties of mismanagement and monopolising power, and are seeking to dissolve the cabinet.

In response, hundreds of thousands demonstrated in several parts of the Khartoum and other cities on Thursday against the prospect of military rule. Several cabinet ministers took part. In a statement after the meeting with Feltman, Burhan praised American support for Sudan’s transition to democracy and said the military was keen to protect that transition.