Top US diplomat for Africa to travel to Sudan to urge talks

WASHINGTON - 11 June 2019: The US top diplomat for Africa will visit Sudan this week to meet with a transitional military council and the country's civilian opposition to urge talks, the State Department said on Monday.

Talks between the two collapsed last week when security forces stormed a sit-in that had been the focal point of Sudan's protest movement for nearly two months.

Tibor Nagy, the US assistant secretary for Africa, will also discuss a political solution for Sudan during a visit to Ethiopia, whose Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has tried to mediate between the military council and protest movement.

"He will call for a cessation of attacks against civilians and urge parties to work toward creating an enabling environment ... for talks to resume," the State Department said, adding that Nagy will later travel to Mozambique and South Africa.