US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa David Satterfield was in Sudan on Thursday on a two-day visit to discuss with military and civilian leaders efforts to put the country back on the transition track following the army’s coup in October 25.
The US State Department said Satterfield aims “to engage stakeholders in support of the Sudanese people’s desire to advance their country’s democratic transition under a civilian-led government.”
The Oct. 25 military takeover has upended Sudan’s transition to democratic rule.
The coup prompted mass protests during which 81 people have been killed and more than 2,000 injured, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors.
US Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and Satterfield, who had been newly appointed, visited Sudan in January during which they met with pro-democracy activists and ruling generals.
The US has criticized a pattern of arrests and detentions of civil society activists, journalists, and humanitarian workers in Sudan. It has also condemned the use of live fire against demonstrators and has called for a transparent investigation into the deaths of protesters.
