KHARTOUM: Sudan’s army rulers announced talks will resume with protest leaders Sunday, four days after the generals suspended negotiations on implementing civilian rule in the country.
“The Transitional Military Council announces the resumption of negotiations with the Alliance for Freedom and Change on Sunday at the presidential palace,” the ruling army council said in a Saturday statement.
World powers have urged the generals to resume meetings on Sudan’s future leadership, following the ouster last month of longtime leader Omar Al-Bashir after mass protest.
Representatives from the United Nations, African Union and European powers “called for an immediate resumption of talks,” said Tibor Nagy, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa.
They called on both sides to “reach an agreement ASAP on an interim government that is truly civilian-led and reflects the will of the Sudanese people,” Nagy tweeted Friday.
The generals and protest leaders had been expected to come to an agreement on Wednesday on the thorniest issue — the make-up of a new body to govern Sudan for three years.
But that meeting never took place and on Thursday the head of the military council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, confirmed talks were suspended for 72 hours.
Demonstrators subsequently spent hours meeting Burhan’s demand to dismantle roadblocks which had paralyzed parts of the capital.
The generals have allowed protesters to hold onto their sit-in outside Khartoum’s army headquarters, where they remain camped out to demand a rapid transition to democracy.
