Sudan’s ruling military has sacked six ambassadors – to the United States, the European Union, China, Qatar, France and the head of the country’s mission to the Swiss city of Geneva – apparently over their rejection of the military takeover.
The move comes as demands are mounting for the army to reverse Monday’s coup that derailed Sudan’s fragile transition towards democracy following the removal of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
Several Western embassies in Khartoum also said they will keep recognising deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his cabinet as “the constitutional leaders of the transitional government” of Sudan.
On Wednesday, the African Union announced its decision to suspend Sudan from the bloc’s activities until the restoration of the country’s civilian-led transitional government.
The United States paused US$700 million in emergency assistance while the Word Bank froze aid.
The World Bank’s move is a major blow for a country that had just begun re-emerging from three decades of financial isolation.
During al-Bashir’s rule, Sudan had been placed on a US list of state sponsors of terrorism which made it ineligible for much-needed debt relief and funding from global institutions and also limited potential foreign investment.
The country was removed from the list in December 2020, and in June the World Bank said it would commit about $2bn in grants to support the government’s economic efforts over the next year.
Meanwhile, protests denouncing the army’s power grab continued in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere, with many businesses shut in response to calls for strikes as part of a civil disobedience campaign.
More: Agencies