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<\/a><\/p>\nBy Lucy Craymer<\/p>\n
WELLINGTON (Reuters) -British Foreign Minister James Cleverly will leave New Zealand Friday and cut his Pacific tour short, his office said, as he focuses on coordinating Britain’s response to the Sudan crisis.<\/p>\n
Cleverly had been scheduled to meet with Samoan officials and New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta in Samoa on Friday before undertaking a bilateral meeting and press briefing Saturday in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s with real regret that due to the ongoing situation in Sudan I\u2019ve had to cut the visit short. I\u2019ve learned a lot about the region, its opportunities and challenges,” he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
He said he had spoken with Mahuta and they had agreed to reschedule the visit as soon as possible. <\/p>\n
The Foreign Office said on Thursday that Cleverly was skipping his Samoa stop and heading straight to New Zealand where he could better coordinate London’s response to events in Africa.<\/p>\n
Fighting has erupted\u00a0across Khartoum and at other sites in Sudan this month in a battle between two powerful rival military factions.<\/p>\n
Cleverly last week called on the Sudanese leadership to restrain troops and de-escalate, and on Friday on Twitter said he had held discussions with international partners on working collectively to resolve this conflict.<\/p>\n
“The UK is working tirelessly for peace in Sudan. This violence must end,” he said on Twitter. “Alongside our international partners, we call for a lasting ceasefire.”<\/p>\n
International powers have been struggling to evacuate citizens after the airport and several districts housing embassies were caught up in the violence.<\/p>\n
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday appealed to Sudan’s warring factions to observe a ceasefire over the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday to allow civilians to reach safe areas.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Stephen Coates)<\/p>\n
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