Addis Ababa — A delegation of the Civil Democratic Forces alliance (better known as Tagaddum) met with the US Assistant Secretary of State on African Affairs Molly Phee, in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, yesterday. Phee also sat with representatives from the now-banned resistance committees, and members of Sudanese women civil society organisations (CSOs).

The meeting was held to discuss "general developments on the situation in Sudan", as well as efforts to end the war and achieve a sustainable democratic civil transition, Tagaddum (meaning progress in Arabic) said in a statement after it ended.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee welcomed the efforts made by Tagaddum to form a "broad, inclusive, pro-democracy" civilian front to end the war and to "include a wide range of voices, perspectives, peoples, and backgrounds" to tackle the conflict in Sudan.

Following a meeting with Sudanese women CSOs on the same day, the African Affairs bureau chief reiterated that there is "no acceptable military solution to the conflict in Sudan" and reaffirmed US support for women's full participation in governance in Sudan.

Phee said she also sat with "leaders of grassroots organisations (including Resistance Committees) from across Sudan", in another X post yesterday. She applauded their dedication to "helping meet immediate humanitarian needs [and] helping sustain the grassroots community necessary to build the dignified future the Sudanese people deserve".

As reported by Dabanga, the acting Minister of Federal Governance issued a decree banning all grassroots committees in Sudan, including resistance committees, native administration committees, and committees of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), on January 16.