Sudan Protesters Resume Talks With Military Council

A demonstration in Khartoum in the week of July 1, 2019.
4 July 2019

Cape Town — Sudan's protest leaders have resumed face-to-face talks with the ruling generals, Al Jazeera reports.

African Union and Ethiopian mediators had urged both sides to revive negotiations on a new governing body.

The ruling Transitional Military Council and an opposition coalition have wrangled for weeks over what form the country's new government should take after the military deposed long-time president Omar al-Bashir on April 11.

Mediators led by the AU and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have been trying to broker a return to direct talks between the two sides.

"The Alliance for Freedom and Change met and decided to accept the invitation for direct negotiations" with the generals, protest leader Madani Abbas Madani told reporters on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera reports that the military council announced on Saturday that a joint AU-Ethiopia proposal received on June 27 was suitable for the resumption of talks.

The alliance's announcement came as United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, called on Sudanese authorities to ensure a swift transition to a civilian government.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Bachelet said Sunday's mass protests - described as the "millions march" - appeared to be "unprecedented in recent Sudanese history".

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