US 'encouraged' in Sudan, sends envoy

The United States has praised orders by Sudan's new military leader to free political prisoners and end a night curfew as it dispatched an envoy to Khartoum to encourage a transition to democracy.

Makila James, the deputy assistant secretary of state who is in charge of eastern Africa, will head to Khartoum this weekend, an official said on Thursday.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the United States will "calibrate our policies based on our assessment of events" but added that talks on delisting Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism remained suspended.

"We are encouraged by the decision to release political prisoners and cancel the curfew in Khartoum," Ortagus said in a statement. She said that the United States wanted the military council and other armed units to "show restraint, avoid conflict and remain committed to the protection of the Sudanese people."
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the short-term US goal was to "get the military folks out of centre-stage" and "back to being responsible for security, nothing else."