Ambassador Lucy Tamlyn will serve as Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim, at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan (Credit: Department of State)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
The U.S. Department of State is dispatching Ambassador Lucy Tamlyn, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister Counselor, to serve as Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim, at the American Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. The move follows the outgoing Chargé d’Affaires Brian Shukan’s nomination as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. Sudan is in a state of political chaos at the moment following last October’s military coup, with deadly violence reported this week in Khartoum.
“I am sending Ambassador Tamlyn to Khartoum during this critical juncture in Sudan’s democratic transition with the full confidence of Washington behind her. Ambassador Tamlyn will serve in this role pending the nomination and confirmation of a U.S. Ambassador to Sudan. Ambbassador Tamlyn will bring a wealth of experience to the role, having served previously as the Director of the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan and as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Benin and then to the Central African Republic.”
-U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken
Ambassador Tamlyn earned a B.A. from Saint John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland and a Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs in New York. She has also served as Director in the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan in the Department of State, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, Lisbon, Portugal; Economic Counselor, U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, France; Provincial Reconstruction Team Leader, Erbil, Iraq; and Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, N’Djamena, Chad.
SUDAN in political crisis following Military Coup, deadly violence increasing
The United States remains concerned about Sudan’s “democratic trajectory” amid the military takeover of the transitional government. Last October, Sudanese military coup leader Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan dissolved civilian rule after the military overthrew the government. Sudanese security forces killed at least three protesters during rallies this week against the military coup, medics and an activist have said, before a visit by US diplomats seeking to revive a transition to civilian rule. The three killings on Monday bring to 67 the death toll of protesters killed since the October coup. The coup has been condemned by the UN, the US and the EU, which have urged the generals to restore a military-civilian transitional government.
Top American Diplomat to Africa Molly Phee Visits Sudan
Molly Catherine Phee, a career diplomat, is President Biden’s nominee to become his U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. (Credit USIP.org)
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee and newly appointed Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa David Satterfield have embarked on a visit this week to Sudan and Ethiopia. They will also travel to Saudi Arabia. While in Riyadh, Assistant Secretary Phee and Special Envoy Satterfield will attend a meeting of the Friends of Sudan, intended to marshal international support for the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission to Sudan (UNITAMS) in its efforts to facilitate a renewed civilian-led transition to democracy, the State Department said. Following the Friends of Sudan meeting, the Assistant Secretary and Special Envoy will travel to Khartoum where they will meet with pro-democracy activists, women and youth groups, civil society, military leaders, and political figures.
“Their message will be clear: the United States is committed to freedom, peace, and justice for the Sudanese people, ” the Department of State said.
In Ethiopia, the Assistant Secretary and Special Envoy will follow up on President Biden’s “constructive phone call” with Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy on January 10, according to the State Department. “They will encourage government officials to seize the current opening for peace by ending the air strikes and other hostilities, negotiating a ceasefire, releasing all political prisoners, restoring sustained humanitarian access, and laying the foundation for an inclusive national dialogue.”
