The U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Britain issued a joint statement Wednesday in support of "a democratic and peaceful” Sudan, where the civilian government was ousted on October 25 in a military coup.

"We endorse the international community’s serious concern with the situation in Sudan. We call for the full and immediate restoration of its civilian-led transitional government and institutions,” said the statement from "QUAD for Sudan” released by the U.S. State Department.

The countries called for the lifting of a state of emergency and "an effective dialogue between all parties” to help "ensure that the peace and security for the people of Sudan is a top priority.”

The military takeover occurred after weeks of escalating tensions between military and civilian leaders over Sudan’s transition to democracy. The coup threatened to derail the process, which had slowly progressed since the ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising in 2019.

Sudanese military chief General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan said the army’s overthrow of the country’s transitional government was necessary to avoid a civil war.

Anti-military demonstrations have been held since the coup. During protests Saturday, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said security forces fatally shot three protesters in the city of Omdurman and that 38 people were injured, some by gunfire.

U.S. Horn of Africa Special Envoy Jeffrey Feltman said Tuesday that the Sudanese military exercised restraint during Saturday’s anti-coup demonstrations and that the restraint raised the possibility of the country’s return to a power-sharing agreement.​

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

VOA