British diplomat urges release of rebel leaders detained by the military in Khartoum

Yasir Arman visits troops in front line (File/Supplied/SSNN)

June 9th 2019 (SSNN) – A top British diplomat to Sudan has urged the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) to immediately release three armed opposition leaders under the military detention.

Last week, the military in Khartoum arrested the deputy chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N), Yasir Arman, the group’s Secretary General, Khamis Jalab and spokesman, Mabarak Ardol.

Arman was sentenced to death in absentia and is unclear if he was arrested on this basis, but he said the week before his arrest that he was told by the military to leave the country.

In a statement on his twitter account, the British Ambassador to Sudan, Irfan Siddig, said it is unacceptable for the opposition figures to remain in detention and that their whereabouts remains unknown. He called on the Sudanese military to release them with immediate effects.

“Unacceptable that Yasir Arman, Mubarak Ardol and Khamis Jalab remain in detention in Sudan, without any news of their status,” Siddig wrote.

“The Transitional Military Council must release them and other opposition leaders immediately,” he added.