UN calls on Sudan military to restore civilian government

THE U.N. Security Council called on Sudan’s military leaders Thursday to restore the civilian-led transitional government and immediately release all those detained after the military takeover.

The U.N.’s most powerful body also expressed “solidarity” with the Sudanese people and affirmed its readiness “to support efforts to realize Sudan’s democratic transition” and the peoples’ aspirations “for an inclusive, peaceful, stable, democratic and prosperous future.”

The press statement approved by all 15 council members went through several revisions, diplomats said, mainly to address objections from Russia, which did not want to “condemn” the military takeover as originally proposed in the British-drafted text.

The final version instead expresses the Security Council’s “serious concern” about the military’s Oct. 25 takeover, the suspension of some transitional institutions, the declaration of a state of emergency, and the detention of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, as well as other civilian members of the transitional government.” It noted Hamdok’s