Under Secretary Hale: USA will stand by Sudan during transition

The US Under Secretary for Political Affairs, David Hale affirmed on Wednesday that the USA will stand by the Sudanese people during the transitional period.

Hale said during a press conference in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, concluding a tour of the region which has also taken him to Somalia and Kenya, that his country is focused on helping the Sudanese people during the transitional period that will start in the coming days.

“America is fully committed to helping Sudan transition to a civilian-led government that reflects the will of the people,” Hale said.

He added that the USA will work on helping the Sudanese people to make the three-year transition period move with a degree of legitimacy requested by the Sudanese people.

“During his visit to Sudan, he had heard “very strong pledges of commitment by all the people he met to make the transition agreement work, and to hold accountable those who committed crimes against civilians”, he said.

State Sponsors of Terrorism

Hale cautioned that his country still needs to settle some issues with Sudan before considering removing it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism: “There are a number of things that we look forward to engaging with a civilian-led government in Sudan,” he said, adding that these included human rights, religious freedom, and counter-terrorism efforts, as well as “promoting internal peace, political stability and economic recovery in Sudan”.

During his visit to Khartoum, Hale met with representatives from the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC), the opposition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), along with civil society actors, including women and youth, who were in the forefront demanding change in Sudan.

Ahead of his visit, the US State Department said that Hale intended to “encourage full and timely implementation of the agreements reached on July 17, and August 4, to create a civilian-led transitional government, and underscore our expectation that the transitional government will reflect the will of the Sudanese people”.

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