SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Guardian - Washington urges Riyadh to end military crackdown in Sudan

5/6/19: Guardian – Washington urges Riyadh to end military crackdown in Sudan ,by Patrick Wintour

 Guardian diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour questions whether in Sudan, “unlike Libya and Yemen,” the US will “do more than simply dial Riyadh once.”

 Wintour suggests that the scale of violence in Khartoum this week led to “an irritation if not exasperation with Saudi foreign policy,” arguing that Sudan presents a rare case in which the US makes public their representations to Riyadh on the need for civilian rule and for democracy to run its course.

 Although, “until recently there was no sign that the US disapproved of [Saudi Arabia] gaining influence in Sudan,” Wintour highlights US national security adviser John Bolton’s condemnation of the violence, as well as an “unusual public statement” by the US State Department, whereby its undersecretary for political affairs David Hale phoned Saudi deputy defense minister Khalid bin Salma to request that Saudi Arabia pressure the TMC to end its “brutal repression.”