Sudan urges AU to lift suspension, cites new civilian government

July 30, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s Prime Minister said on Wednesday that his country has met all the conditions to be reinstated into the African Union after its 2021 suspension, urging the bloc to lift the measures ahead of a key meeting on the issue next week.

Prime Minister Kamil Idris said the appointment of a civilian prime minister and a government of independent experts fulfilled the AU’s requirements for readmission.

During a meeting on Tuesday in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, Idris informed the AU’s special representative, Mohamed Belaiche, that lifting the suspension was an “acquired right” that should be handled with impartiality, according to a government statement.

The AU suspended Sudan’s membership after a military coup in October 2021 dissolved the country’s civilian-led transitional authority.

Belaiche confirmed that the AU’s Peace and Security Council will hold a meeting on August 4 to discuss the Sudan file, according to Sudan’s state news agency SUNA. He affirmed the bloc’s support for Sudan’s “legitimate government” and its return to the continental body.

In a related development, a major political coalition allied with the army also called for the country’s reinstatement.

The Forces of Freedom and Change – Democratic Bloc said in a statement that it welcomed the AU’s “categorical rejection” of a parallel “Foundation Government” announced by the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The bloc’s spokesman, Mohamed Zakaria Faraj, affirmed its commitment to Sudan’s unity and non-recognition of any “parallel entity.”

The Democratic Bloc is a coalition of armed movements and political parties that have allied with the Sudanese army, including groups led by Minni Arko Minawi and Gibril Ibrahim.