Sudanese military told to restore civil government

DPA Nairobi The UN Security Council on Thursday demanded the Sudan military restore the civilian-led transitional government and release all those who have...

DPANairobiThe UN Security Council on Thursday demanded the Sudan military restore the civilian-led transitional government and release all those who have been detained.“[The members of the Security Council] also called upon all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, refrain from the use of violence and emphasised the importance of full respect for human rights, including the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.” They also said that any attempt to undermine the democratic transition process in Sudan puts at risk the country’s security, stability and development.Late on Wednesday, foreign diplomats met ousted Sudanese prime minister Abdullah Hamdok in the capital Khartoum, the UN mission in the country has confirmed.An EU delegation as well as the embassies of Germany, France, Britain, the US and other countries met Hamdok at his residence, they said jointly on Twitter. “Pleased to find him in good health. We continue to call for full restoration of his liberty,” the statement tweeted by the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission (UNITAMS) read.In a statement released by the US and EU embassies in Sudan on Wednesday, diplomats had said it was “paramount for the ambassadors based in Khartoum to be able to communicate with the prime minister.” The military took power in the East African country on Monday after a period of intense political crisis, including street demonstrations demanding that the military end its involvement in the government.General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who previously headed a transitional government together with Hamdok, announced on Monday that the civilian government had been dissolved and declared a state of emergency.The airport in the capital Khartoum, which was closed after the military coup in Sudan, opened again on Thursday. But the military had replaced the top management of the aviation authority, according to state television.Since the coup, internet access has been largely blocked. Nationwide protests are expected on Saturday during a “Day of Resistance.” The German aid organisation Aktion gegen den Hunger (Action Against Hunger) warned of a further deterioration in the situation for the population.“Even before the current developments, 80 per cent of people were living in poverty,” the group’s executive director, Jan Sebastian Friedrich-Rust, said. Earlier reports from Khartoum said that the army leadership has relieved six ambassadors - including the country''s envoy to the European Union - of their duties, according to reports.The Sudanese ambassadors to the European Union, United States, China, France, Qatar and the head of the Sudanese mission in Geneva were deposed, Sudanese state television and Al-Arabiya reported late Wednesday.A number of Sudanese diplomats had condemned the military takeover and expressed their solidarity with Sudanese demonstrators resisting the coup. "We reiterate our unwavering commitment and full support to the struggle of the Sudanese people for freedom, peace and justice and the transition process to establish a permanent democratic system in the country," the Sudanese ambassadors to Belgium, France, Switzerland, China, South Africa, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emifrates said in a joint statement published by the Sudan Tribune.