The United States (US), European Union, Britain, and Norway on Tuesday warned the Sudanese army against appointing their own prime minister, threatening to withhold economic aid, reported The BBC.
In a joint statement, the countries said they would not support a prime minister or a government that is appointed without the involvement of a broad range of civilian stakeholders.
“Unilateral action to appoint a new prime minister and cabinet would undermine those institutions’ credibility and risks plunging the nation into conflict,” the statement added.
The warning comes after former Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, resigned from his post on Sunday amid a political deadlock and widespread protests following October’s military coup. He resigned just six weeks after returning to office in a deal with military coup leaders meant to calm tensions and anti-coup protests.
While announcing his resignation, Hamdok said he was stepping down after failing to reach a consensus with the military on a pathway to transition to a civilian government.
In 2019, then Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown by the Sudanese army after major protests demanding his resignation. In October, the military dissolved the civilian-military transitional government that had been put in place in 2019 and detained Hamdok and other senior government officials.
The Western countries raised alarm at the security forces’ actions against protesters as more than 50 have been killed since the coup. The group condemned the military as responsible for human rights violations against the Sudanese people.
On Tuesday security forces fired tear gas in several cities to disperse protesters demonstrating against military rule.
The countries also called for an immediate halt to all attacks on hospitals, detentions of activists and journalists, and communication blackouts.
“At this critical juncture, we continue to hold the military authorities responsible for human rights violations which are against current national legislation and international law,” the statement read.
