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Sudan: British envoys voice support for any solution that satisfies Sudanese people

September 27, 2022 at 4:17 pm

People stage demonstration demanding the civilian rule in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on August 18, 2022 [Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency]

The British envoy to the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, Sarah Montgomery, and her envoy colleague to Sudan and South Sudan, Robert Fairweather, have expressed their “support” for any “solution” that satisfies the Sudanese people, Anadolu has reported, citing a statement issued by the country’s Transitional Sovereignty Council.

According to the statement, the envoys made their comments during separate meetings with council members Shams El-Din Kabbashi and Yasser Al-Atta in the presence of British Ambassador Giles Lever at the presidential palace in Khartoum. Montgomery and Fairweather arrived in the Sudanese capital on Sunday for a three-day official visit as part of efforts to resolve the political crisis in Sudan.

Kabbashi and Al-Atta expressed the Sudanese government’s support for the tripartite efforts by the UN, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as well as the efforts of the Quartet comprising the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the context of facilitating ways to reach a political consensus.

According to the official statement, the Sudanese-British talks also addressed the developments in the war in Ethiopia and the ongoing efforts to bring the conflicting parties closer. They explored Sudan’s keenness, as the head of IGAD, to support efforts to achieve stability in Ethiopia.

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During their meetings with the British envoys, the Sudanese officials stressed that the military establishment left the political dialogue in July and now stands at the same distance from all proposed initiatives. Sudan’s political forces have been called upon to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

On 8 June, a national dialogue was launched in Sudan to resolve the political deadlock, under the auspices of the African Union, the UN and IGAD. Four days later it was announced that the second round of dialogue had been postponed indefinitely.

Sudan has been witnessing popular protests since 25 October last year calling for the return of democratic civilian rule and rejecting exceptional measures imposed by the President of the Sovereign Council, army commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Al-Burhan is accused of carrying out a military coup, which he denies. The general has stressed that his measures aimed to “correct the course of the transitional period.” He pledged to hand over power through elections or national consensus.