Blinken says U.S. condemns Sudan's military takeover

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks on modernizing American diplomacy during a speech from the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., October 27, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis/Pool

(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a phone call with Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam Sadiq al-Mahdi on Thursday, condemned Sudan's military takeover and the arrest of the country's civilian leaders.

He said on Twitter that they also discussed how the United States can best support the Sudanese people's call for a return to a civilian-led transition to democracy.

Thousands of people in the African country have taken to the streets since Monday's military's seizure of power from a transitional government, and several have been killed in clashes with security forces.

The armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who led the military takeover, has dismissed the joint civilian-military council set up to steer the country to democratic elections following the overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising in April 2019.

Blinken discussed Washington's support for a civilian transition in accordance with the Sudanese Constitutional Declaration, the U.S. State Department spokesperson Nid Price said.

(Reporting By Moaz Abd-Alaziz; Editing by Michael Perry)