EU Ambassadors Discuss Return to Constitutional Order with Sudanese FM

EU Ambassadors based in Sudan met today with Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi (EU Mission)
EU Ambassadors based in Sudan met today with Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi (EU Mission)
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EU Ambassadors Discuss Return to Constitutional Order with Sudanese FM

EU Ambassadors based in Sudan met today with Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi (EU Mission)
EU Ambassadors based in Sudan met today with Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi (EU Mission)

European Union Ambassadors based in Sudan met with Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi and discussed the current crisis facing the Arab-African country.

In a statement on its official Facebook page, the EU Mission said the ambassadors reiterated support for the return to constitutional order, the need for the immediate release of detainees, and protection of the right to peaceful demonstrations.

Al-Mahdi said that the meeting tackled the current political issue following the October 25 coup, and the European community's role in resolving the crisis.

In a statement, Al-Mahdi called on the international community to pressure the coup leaders to release all political detainees, restore internet services, and provide urgent support to confront the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement issued earlier after the army leaders seized power, the mission called "for the immediate return to the roadmap for a democratic transition of Sudan, as laid out in the Constitutional Document and the Juba Peace Agreement."

A UN circular advised agencies that the government of Sudan's ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok continued to be recognized and that "persons claiming to be replacing" his officials should only be met for limited reasons.

The Troika countries warned the junta against taking unilateral measures. The UK, US, and Norway called for returning to the civilian-led transition.

Also, the ministers of the legitimate transitional government renewed their categorical rejection of the military coup, calling for lifting of the state of emergency and the release of the prime minister, ministers, and all political detainees.

The ministers condemned the security forces' violence, repression, and systematic attacks against peaceful demonstrators and arrest campaigns. They demanded an investigation to prosecute the perpetrators involved in killing demonstrators, as well as the barbaric assault on them.

They stressed that the military coup undermines the achievements of the transitional government, which include removing Sudan's name from the state sponsors of terrorism list, debt relief, grants, and the recovery of the national economy.

The Forces of Freedom and Change announced it would support the mass movements and revolutionary forces in their strikes and civil disobedience. They will also prepare for the protest with the participation of millions to overthrow the military coup.

The Forces denounced the pressures and threats against the detainees that put them in a life-threatening situation. They rejected the intimidation of the coup against the detainees and deprived them of their constitutional and legal rights.



Britain 'Taking Forward' Gaza Food Airdrop Plan, Says PM Starmer's Office

A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
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Britain 'Taking Forward' Gaza Food Airdrop Plan, Says PM Starmer's Office

A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday spoke to his French and German counterparts and outlined UK plans to get aid to people in Gaza and evacuate sick and injured children, his office said.

"The prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance," a statement said, AFP reported.

In a phone conversation, Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza "which they agreed is appalling".

"They all agreed it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace," according to a readout released by Downing Street.

"They discussed their intention to work closely together on a plan.... which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region. They agreed that once this plan was worked up, they would seek to bring in other key partners, including in the region, to advance it," it added.

The discussion comes a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip, calling it a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience".

Aid groups have warned of surging cases of starvation, particularly among children, in war-ravaged Gaza, which Israel placed under an aid blockade in March amid its ongoing war with Hamas. That blockade was partially eased two months later.

The trickle of aid since then has been controlled by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.