Sudan angry with US diplomat

The head of the U.S. embassy in Sudan faced criticism Monday from the ruling National Congress Party after calling for political change. Ambassador Joseph D. Stafford said political change in Khartoum might improve relations between Sudan and the United States, the Sudan Tribune reported. Stafford, however, told Arabic language al-Sudani newspaper the United States could not impose a certain government on the Sudanese people. National Congress Party spokesman Badr el-Din Ahmed Ibrahim accused the the United States of trying to undermine the current government by supporting Sudanese civil society groups, the newspaper said Sunday. Sudanese officials allege "foreign hands" and rebel groups manipulated youth and students to organize protests this summer after the removal of some oil subsidies, the newspaper said. Sudan also accuses the United Sates of maintaining unjust sanctions against the country.