US suspends $700 million aid to Sudan; Mulls sanctions over military coup

In a major action against Sudan military rule, the Biden administration announced the suspension of $700 million of financial assistance that was given to the Northeast African country for the past two decades. While announcing the suspension, US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said the full amount of the aid package had been put on "pause" due to the military action against the democratically elected government. Condemning the illegal actions taken by the military ruler, Price appealed to the authority to immediately release the political leaders including, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and several other social activists.

Notably, the leader of the takeover, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in September, ousted the civilian-led transitional authority and detain many of its members. "The civilian-led transitional government should be immediately restored. It represents the will of the Sudanese people, as evidenced by the significant, peaceful demonstrations of support," Price said in a statement released after the press conference on October 25. "We recognize the legitimate grievances about the pace of the transition, but (the) dismissal of government officials and dissolution of government institutions, both violate Sudan’s constitutional declaration and abandon the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people."

US has been providing financial aid to the African country

"Military officials should immediately release and ensure the safety of all detained political actors, fully restore the civilian-led transitional government and refrain from any violence against protesters, including the use of live ammunition,” Price said. “Any change to the transitional government by force risks assistance and our bilateral relationship more broadly.” It is worth mentioning that the United States has been providing financial aid to the African country over the years to support social schemes that were running during the regime of the ousted government. However, it was not clear the exact amount of financial help that has been provided by the US authorities. 

US could impose sanctions on Sudan

During the presser, the US spokesman said additional US aid to the country could also be at risk, along with the broader relationship. Further, Ned Price said that the US government was following the developments very closely and warned of possible repercussions. Also, the spokesperson warned the military authority to restore the sanctions that had been lifted after Sudan’s removal from the terrorism sponsor list.
Notably, the relationship between both countries had been recovering after Khartoum agreed to pay damages to the victims of the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. In 2020, the US removed Sudan from the US list of "state sponsors of terrorism".

With inputs from AP

Image: AP