Following the resignation of Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, the European Union and the United States have warned the military rulers in Khartoum not to appoint a new prime minister and Cabinet unilaterally.
They "will not support a prime minister or government-appointed without the involvement of a broad range of civilian stakeholders," the EU, the US, Britain and Norway stressed in an unusually direct joint statement. Economic aid for Sudan also depended on this, they added.
"We look forward to working with a government and a transitional parliament, which enjoy credibility with the Sudanese people and can lead the country to free and fair elections as a priority.
"This will be necessary to facilitate the Troika and the European Union's provision of economic assistance to Sudan," the statement said.
It went on to say: "At this critical juncture, we continue to hold the military authorities responsible for human rights violations which are against current national legislation and international law.
"The right of the Sudanese people to assemble peacefully and express their demands needs to be protected.
"We expect the security services and other armed groups to refrain from using further violence against peaceful."
Hamdok had resigned on Sunday night after weeks of bloody street protests against the government and tensions with the country's military rulers.
Hamdok was ousted in a military coup on October 25 and was only reinstated after pressure from home and abroad. There have been repeated protests against the military's continued participation in government, of which Hamdok was the civilian leader. The anti-military protesters accused him of treason.
Sudan was ruled with an iron fist for almost 30 years by Omar al-Bashir. The strongman was forced out of office in April 2019 by months of mass protests and a military coup.
The military and the civilian opposition then agreed on a transitional government to pave the way for democratic elections.
In addition, extensive economic reforms were planned, which would have impacted the military.
The military was also opposed to Hamdok's efforts to deal with human rights violations.
