Pro-democracy figures seek British parliamentary support for Sudan’s truce, student visas
September 24, 2026 (LONDON) – Leaders from Sudan’s civilian opposition movement met a senior British lawmaker in London to press for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire, visa relief for Sudanese students, and global action to recover looted antiquities.
Yasser Arman and Nazar Yousif Eltahir, representing the Revolutionary Democratic Current of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-RDC), met Lord Jeremy Purvis on Wednesday at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.
The meeting came as Sudan continues to grapple with a devastating conflict that has triggered severe economic breakdown, widespread hunger, and the collapse of vital agricultural irrigation projects, including the Gezira Scheme.
During the talks, the delegates urged Britain to ease visa procedures for Sudanese students seeking to study at UK institutions, citing the two countries’ historical academic ties.
The movement also raised alarms over the potential resurgence of Islamist factions in Sudan, warning that their return to power would carry severe consequences for both regional and international security.
Discussions addressed the conflict’s expanding geopolitical footprint across the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, and the Sahel, with the delegates highlighting the urgent need to preserve state institutions while refusing political legitimacy to the warring factions.
The civilian representatives also called for the eventual formation of a single, unified national military and reiterated demands for independent international inquiries to hold perpetrators of abuses accountable.
On the cultural front, the delegation appealed for global support to protect Sudanese heritage and recover artefacts looted from museums during the unrest, drawing comparisons to international preservation efforts in Iraq and Syria.
Purvis, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs and international development spokesperson in the House of Lords, committed to raising the concerns across parliamentary groups, the upper house, party leadership, and the media.
He also pledged to support advocacy regarding student visas and join initiatives aimed at repatriating Sudan’s stolen cultural relics, according to the group.