US Senate panel chair says Sudan coup may have lasting consequences on bilateral relations

Washington [US], October 26 (ANI/Sputnik): US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez said on Monday that the military coup in Sudan may have long-lasting consequences on bilateral relations with the United States.
Earlier on Monday, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his wife were abducted by the military and taken to an unknown location while four cabinet ministers and several other politicians were arrested. Hundreds of people took to the streets of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum to protest the military coup.
"The Sudanese military's takeover of the state apparatus is completely unacceptable and will have long-lasting consequences with respect to US-Sudanese relations," Menendez said in a press release. "However, it's not too late to reverse course and stop this attack on Sudan's transition toward democracy."
Menendez urged the Biden administration to use every diplomatic tool possible to send a clear message to the Sudanese military that they must end the coup. He also called on the US partners in the Arab world to push for the release of Sudanese government officials, including the prime minister, and a transfer of leadership to a civilian as required under the terms of the transitional constitution.
The coup comes more than two years after demonstrators forced longtime president Omar Bashir out of office and put a civilian government in place that was to oversee the transition to a democratic rule. (ANI/Sputnik)