(CNN) The US State Department has appointed a veteran diplomat as its special envoy for Sudan amid ongoing political turmoil in the African nation.

Donald Booth, a retired US ambassador and former special envoy, "will lead US efforts to support a political solution to the current crisis that reflects the will of the Sudanese people," according to the State Department.

"His appointment demonstrates that the United States has a firm commitment to the Sudanese people and efforts to advance a peaceful political solution," spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Wednesday.

Booth comes to the role with experience in the region, having served as special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan from August 2013 to January 2017. He also served as US ambassador to Ethiopia, Zambia, and Liberia.

The newly-appointed envoy was already in the region on Wednesday, traveling with Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy to Sudan and Ethiopia, according to the State Department. While the two US officials are in Sudan's capital city of Khartoum, they will urge the Sudanese security forces to end their attacks on civilians, withdraw the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces from the city, and allow an independent investigation of the recent violence, Ortagus said.

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