Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the merits of the Government of Sudan’s attribution of blame for recent violence against protestors to Darfuris and (b) the risks faced by Darfuris in (i) Khartoum and (ii) Sudan.

We are aware of the allegations made that Darfuris are responsible for recent violence against protestors in Sudan. We judge that these are not credible, and do not assess there to be any particular ethnic dimension to the protests movement or the response to it. The UK is following closely the protests in Sudan and condemns the response of the Sudanese authorities, including the use of lethal force by security forces and arbitrary detentions in response to peaceful protests.

Along with Troika partners, we have called for restraint by the authorities and continue to urge them at every opportunity to respect the rights of all the people of Sudan.