The newly appointed U.S. special representative for the Horn of Africa, ‘David Satterfield’ notably includes Israel in his current travel round to the governments promoting democratic civilian rule in Sudan.
Satterfield, who replaced ‘Jeffrey Feltman’ as special representative last month, ended his trip in Israel on Wednesday after visiting Kenya, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Since the day of assumption of his role, he had already undertaken a separate trip to Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
Satterfield planned his trip after a week when Israeli delegation appointments came to Africa in order to meet with the Sudanese top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the Khartoum military-run ruling council.
Sudan protest has been going on since October 25, upending the East African state’s delicate transition to democratic rule after President Omar al-Bashir’s thirty years of autocratic rule was ended by his removal in April 2019.
The nation Prime Minister,’ Abdalla Hamdok’ resigned last month and gave the whole power to the military hand. In Contrast, the political deadlock has led to violent demonstrations leaving dozens of protestors dead.
After the coup protest, the U.S. directly approached Israel in order to develop their ties with Sudan to stop the violent escalation. The direct appeal came after the two states agreed to normalize their relationship, and Sudan’s cabinet overruled a 1958 law banning diplomatic and business relations with Israel.
According to some close sources, the country has made it difficult for Sudan to promote the relationships with Israel the same way the other countries have, referring to the UAE and Bahrain.
As per the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken highlighted Satterfield decades of diplomatic experience and working amidst some of the worlds most challenging conflicts.
The ongoing conflict in the Horn of Africa and the region’s interlinked political security and humanitarian challenges demand sustained focus by the United States, said Blinken.
