The US special envoy for the Horn of Africa will visit Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Ethiopia next week amid ongoing crises in the two African nations, the state department said on Friday.
David Satterfield and Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee will travel to Riyadh, Khartoum and Addis Ababa from January 17 to 20.
In Riyadh, the pair will meet with the Friends of Sudan, a group calling for the restoration of Sudan's transitional government following a military coup in October.
The meeting aims to "marshal international support" for the UN mission to "facilitate a renewed civilian-led transition to democracy" in Sudan, according to the statement.
Mr Satterfield and Ms Phee will then travel to Khartoum, where they will meet with pro-democracy activists, women's and youth groups, civil organisations and military and political figures.
"Their message will be clear: the United States is committed to freedom, peace, and justice for the Sudanese people," the statement read.
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A protester waves the Ethiopian flag during a rally against pro-Tigray People's Liberation Front forces in Addis Ababa. All photos: AFP -
People on horseback wave flags at the rally. -
A drum major of the Republican March Band leads performers during the rally. -
A protester draped in the Ethiopian flag in Addis Ababa. -
Protesters gather in Ethiopia's capital to rally against pro-TPLF forces. -
A protester holds a banner depicting the US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power. -
Protesters in Addis Ababa hold signs in support of Ethiopia's armed forces. -
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called for all eligible civilians to join the armed forces. -
Protesters take to the streets as fighting rages in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation. -
Ethiopia has been wracked by fighting since November, when the prime minister sent troops to topple the TPLF. -
People on horseback wave the Ethiopian national flag during a rally to support armed forces in Addis Ababa.
In Ethiopia, the pair will talk with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to seek a resolution to the deepening civil war.
"They will encourage government officials to seize the current opening for peace by ending the air strikes and other hostilities," the statement read.
They will also ask for the establishment of a ceasefire, the release of political prisoners and the restoration of humanitarian access.
Mr Satterfield, the former US ambassador to Turkey, was appointed to replace Jeffrey Feltman as special envoy on January 6.
Mr Feltman quit after he visited Ethiopia in a bid to encourage peace talks to end more than a year of war following the withdrawal of Tigrayan rebels.
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Amhara militia fighters gather in the village of Adi Arkay, 180 kilometres north-east of the city of Gondar, in Amhara region, northern Ethiopia in July, 2021. All photos: AFP -
Amhara militia on patrol. The Amhara government announced that local forces would go on the offensive against rebels from northern neighbour Tigray. -
Fighters from the Amhara militia rest take a break. The Amhara government said its forces would go into 'attack mode' in an effort to reverse Tigrayan gains. AFP -
Fenta Tereffe, spokesman for North Gondar zone Amhara forces, in the city of Debark, 75 kilometres north-east of Gondar. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has vowed to 'repel' attacks by Ethiopia’s enemies. -
A boy shivers in the rain as drought-hit people carry sacks of maize received from an aid agency in southern Ethiopia.
The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, which last year threatened to march on Addis Ababa, by December had withdrawn to its stronghold, and the government has not pursued the rebels further on the ground.
Mr Feltman had also sought to tackle the crisis in Sudan, but he was treated unceremoniously in October when Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, carried out a coup just after the US envoy had left the country.
Mr Feltman's resignation came days after Sudan's civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, quit, leaving Mr Burhan as the undisputed leader of the country, despite western calls to preserve a democratic transition launched in 2019.
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A man flashes the victory sign during a protest in Khartoum to denounce the October 2021 military coup in Sudan. AP -
The UN said it would hold talks in Sudan to try to set the country's transition to democracy back on track. AP -
A Sudanese man , in the capital Khartoum holds a poster that reads in Arabic: ‘No to the use of live bullets against the unarmed’ during a protest against the October 2021 military coup. AFP -
A Sudanese woman carries a child during a protest against the October 2021 military coup. AFP -
The coup on October 25, led by army chief General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, derailed a power-sharing transition between the military and civilians that had been painstakingly established after longtime dictator Omar Al Bashir was removed in 2019. AFP -
People chant slogans during a protest to denounce the coup. AP -
A Sudanese man carries the national flag during an anti-coup demonstration. AFP -
People chant slogans during a protest to denounce the military takeover. AP -
Sudanese protesters walk past burning tyres during a rally. AFP -
A mask-clad Sudanese protester attends a demonstration. AFP
