US, EU warn Sudan military against naming own PM

The United States and European Union warned Sudan's military on Tuesday against naming its own prime minister after civilian leader Abdalla Hamdok quit amid protests against the junta.

The so-called troika on Sudan - the United States, Britain and Norway - and the EU "will not support a prime minister or government appointed without the involvement of a broad range of civilian stakeholders," said a joint statement issued by the US State Department.

The four Western powers said that they still believed in the democratic transition of Sudan, launched in 2019 following mass student-led protests, but issued a veiled warning to the military if it does not move forward.

"In the absence of progress, we would look to accelerate efforts to hold those actors impeding the democratic process accountable," the statement said.

Western powers had welcomed Hamdok, a mild-mannered economist and former UN official educated in Britain, but analysts had seen him as increasingly irrelevant after he was deposed in an October coup but then returned to office.

Hamdok stepped down late Sunday, saying in a televised address that Sudan's very survival was at risk.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States still believed in the 2019 roadmap - set out between protesters and the military which deposed longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir - but said it needed to be genuine.

"It needs to remain a civilian-led transition, not just a transition that includes civilians," Price told reporters.

"Sudan's next prime minister needs to enjoy credibility with the Sudanese public," he said.

The joint US statement with the European Union, Britain and Norway called for elections - set under the transition timetable for 2023 - to go ahead and for the building of an independent legislature and judiciary.

"Unilateral action to appoint a new prime minister and cabinet would undermine those institutions' credibility and risks plunging the nation into conflict," the statement said.

"To avoid this, we strongly urge stakeholders to commit to an immediate, Sudanese-led and internationally facilitated dialogue to address these and other transitional issues."

The Western powers also again voiced alarm at the military's actions against street protests.

"The right of the Sudanese people to assemble peacefully and express their demands needs to be protected," the statement said.