WASHINGTON — The United States froze $700 million in direct assistance to Sudan’s government in response to Monday’s coup, and American officials demanded that the Sudanese military immediately release civilian leaders and restore the transitional government.
Ned Price, the State Department spokesman, acknowledged frustrations among Sudanese officials and citizens over the sluggish pace of the transition to full civilian rule and free elections, two years after its longtime president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, was ousted. But he said the United States would hold to account “those who may be responsible for derailing Sudan’s path to democracy.”
Mr. Price also warned the military to “refrain from any violence against protesters, including the use of live ammunition,” amid reports that soldiers had fired on protests, killing at least three and wounding more than 80.
“Potentially, of course, our entire relationship with this entity in Sudan will be evaluated in light of what has transpired unless Sudan is returned to the transitional path,” Mr. Price told journalists in Washington.