At U.S request, Israel is using its Sudan ties to curb military coup

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The United States has asked Israel to use its ties with Sudan to lower the flames a week after the military coup in the African country, Israeli officials confirmed Wednesday.

According to an Israeli source, Jerusalem is working to comply with the United States’ request to use its ties with the Sudanese military.

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First reported by the Walla news website, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken passed the request to Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

In addition, the Sudanese news outlet Al-Sudani reported on Monday that an Israeli delegation, including Mossad officials, visited Khartoum following the coup.

Israel has maintained a low profile regarding its relationship to the African country since the takeover, and no official comment has been give on the matter so far.

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U.S. State Department officials have engaged with the Sudanese military to make clear where Washington and the international community stands over the country’s military takeover and made it clear to them a civilian-led transitional government needs to be restored, the State Department said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press briefing, department spokesperson Ned Price said failure to restore the civilian-led government in Sudan will only further isolate the country from the international community.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia last week.Leah Millis / Reuters

Last week, the Sudanese military took over the government. Military forces arrested the acting prime minister and other senior government officials. Sudan’s leading general, Abdel-Fattah Burhan, declared a state of emergency.

Nationwide protests have been occurring in Sudan against the military takeover. On Saturday, three people were killed and dozens more injured during the demonstrations.

The U.S. State Department said last week that it is necessary to reevaluate Israeli-Sudanese normalization efforts due to the military takeover.

Over the past year, Israel had been working to advance its relationship with Sudan, which had remained relatively underdeveloped in comparison to those with other members of the accords, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Reuters also contributed to this report.