The Sudanese Foreign Ministry on Saturday called on the U.S. government to correct its position towards the current Sudanese crisis and not to equate the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) with the “terrorist militia.”
In a statement, the ministry criticized a social media post from the U.S. Ambassador in Khartoum John Godfrey, in which he called the two warring parties, namely the SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), “the belligerents” in Sudan, and that neither of them was fit to rule.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects the U.S. ambassador and the government of his country to correct this unbalanced and faulty position,” the statement said.
The ministry further said that the U.S. ambassador should refrain from such statements that contradict diplomatic norms and do not help in bringing Sudan out of its crisis.
On Friday, Godfrey called on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, “the belligerents” in Sudan to transfer power to a civilian transitional government.
“A future built by the Sudanese people can only happen when civilians’ security is restored. The belligerents, who have demonstrated they are not fit to govern, must end the conflict and transfer power to a civilian transitional government,” the U.S. diplomat said in his post.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly armed clashes between the SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, which left over 3,000 people killed and more than 6,000 injured, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.
The UN estimates that more than 4 million people have been displaced from their homes so far, with 3.2 million facing internal displacement and close to 900,000 seeking refuge across borders in countries including Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan.