Sudan agrees with US on 4 points to resolve its political crisis

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan and the US agreed on four points to resolve the North African country’s political crisis, the Sudanese Sovereign Council said Thursday.

The development came after US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee and David Satterfield, the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, met with the head of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The four points include the commencement of an inclusive dialogue between all Sudanese political parties in order to reach a national consensus to resolve the crisis, the formation of a civilian-led government, amendments to the transitional constitution and the conducting of free and fair elections by the end of the transitional period, the Sovereign Council said in a statement.

The US embassy in Khartoum said the two diplomats warned that Washington would impose punitive measures on those who obstruct the realization of the agreed points.

“The assistant secretary and special envoy made it clear that the United States will consider measures to hold accountable those responsible for failure to move forward on these goals,” the US embassy’s statement read in part.

They also underscored that the US will not resume paused assistance to the Sudanese government “absent and end to violence and a restoration of a civilian-led government that reflects the will of the people of Sudan.”

The high-level US delegation has engaged in wide consultation with Sudanese stakeholders since Wednesday amid deep tensions and continued protests in the capital Khartoum and other states.

Doctors’ activist groups said at least 72 protesters have been killed in Sudan since the military coup last October.