British diplomat warns Sudanese military of its use force against civilians

April 16, 2019 Newsbeat

File: British Ambassador to Khartoum, Irfan Siddig (L) meeting Deputy Head of Transitional Military Council, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (R) in Khartoum

April 16th 2019 (SSNN) – The United Kingdom’s ambassador to Sudan has warned the Sudanese military which took power from long-time serving president Omar al-Bashir last week in a military coup of using violence against civilians.

The warning came as Irfan Siddig, the British head of mission to the Republic of Sudan, meet the deputy head of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC), Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo – aka Hemeti – at the Sudanese presidential palace on Monday in which the top British diplomat said he expressed his concerns regarding role of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“Asked for clarity on whereabouts of former President Bashir and other senior former regime figures. Transparency builds confidence. Finally, expressed concerns about historic role of RSF. Allegations of abuses and crimes need to be addressed to build confidence,” he wrote on his twitter on Monday.

The meeting took place following reports by Sudanese activists and members of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) about an attempt on Monday by the armed forces to break up the 10-day sit-in outside the army headquarters in the Sudanese capital.

In a separate tweet – also on Monday – Siddig said his meeting with Gen Hemeti does not mean an endorsement or to confer legitimacy to the army rule which is aimed at governing the country for a two-year transitional period.

“[I] Met Deputy Head of the Transitional Military Council today. Not to endorse or confer legitimacy, but to stress steps UK wants to see taken to improve situation in Sudan. Top request was no violence and no attempt to forcibly break the sit in,” he wrote.

The Sudanese protesters said in a statement this week that they will not back down to end the protest until the army handover power to the Sudanese people to select a civilian government.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the Troika countries, United States, United Kingdom and Norway, urged the military council to hand over power to civilians.

“It is vital that the authorities listen to the calls from the Sudanese people. Most pressingly, the continuing peaceful protests must not be met with violence from any quarter,” partly said the Troika statement. “Sudan needs an orderly transition to civilian rule leading to elections in a reasonable time frame.”