Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, together with international partners, to call for urgent action to bring the current violence in Sudan to an end and to protect the Sudanese civilian population and to establish an independent, international investigation into the use of force against protesters by the State Security Forces, and in particular the Rapid Support Forces.

The UK continues to engage with a range of opposition, members of the protest movement as well as the Transitional Military Council (TMC). The UK, alongside Troika partners Norway and the US, has called for all sides to engage in an inclusive dialogue that leads to a swift, orderly and peaceful transition to civilian rule.

On 4 June in a joint Troika statement, we condemned the recent violent attacks by Sudanese security forces against peaceful protestors in Sudan which left many civilians dead or injured. We also expressed serious concern over TMC's announcement that it would cease negotiations and called for an agreed transfer of power to a civilian-led government. Our Embassy in Khartoum calls on members of the TMC both in public and directly, the steps that are needed to be taken to improve the situation in Sudan, including the release of all political detainees.

We have expressed concerns at the past role of the Rapid Support Forces, along with other forces. We have been consistent in public and in private that there must be accountability for the crimes committed by members of the former regime. We condemn the recent violent attacks by Sudanese security forces against peaceful protestors in Sudan, which left many dead or injured. The TMC bears full responsibility. The UK, through the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) issued a statement on 17 June, which called for all human rights violations and abuses committed to be investigated in an independent and transparent manner, and perpetrators held accountable for their acts.

On 6 June, the Minister for Africa summoned the Sudanese Ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to express our grave concerns at the use of violence against civilians by the Sudanese authorities. The UK has called for the human rights of all Sudanese people to be respected, the resumption of the political process leading to an agreed peaceful transfer of power to a civilian-led government, as demanded by the Sudanese people. We will continue to engage with all sides to support a settlement that works for all Sudanese people.