WASHINGTON, 16 January 2022, (TON): The new United States envoy to the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, and Assistant Secretary Molly Phee will visit Sudan and Ethiopia next week amid continuing crises in the two African nations.

The American officials will also travel to Saudi Arabia.

Satterfield and Phee will visit Khartoum, where they will meet with Sudanese pro-democracy activists, women’s and youth groups, civil organisations, and military and political figures, a State Department statement said.

The pair will meet with the Friends of Sudan, a group calling for the restoration of the country’s transitional government following a military coup in October.

The meeting aims to “marshal international support” for the United Nations mission to “facilitate a renewed civilian-led transition to democracy” in Sudan, according to the statement. Huge crowds have regularly taken to the streets in Sudan demanding a return to civilian rule since an October 25 coup ended a power-sharing arrangement that began in 2019.

The statement said “their message will be clear: the United States is committed to freedom, peace, and justice for the Sudanese people.”