Sudan’s civilian coalition group on Monday rejected calls for UN-facilitated talks with the army to resolve a crisis sparked by last year’s military coup, reported France 24.
The United Nations, the African Union, and the regional IGAD bloc, have been pushing for Sudanese-led talks to solve the impasse since a military power grab led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ousted the civilian Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) in October last year. The coup derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule that had been established following the ousting of former president Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
The FFC said it received an invitation from the UN-AU-IGAD trio for a technical meeting with Sudan’s military on Wednesday. But, the civilian bloc members said they would not attend the meeting and conveyed their apologies for the same.
In a statement, the FCC said that the meeting does not address the nature of the crisis and that any political process should work on ending the coup and establishing a democratic civilian authority.
It added that establishing a democratic civilian government cannot be done by inundating the political process with parties representing the coup camp or linked to the former regime.
Meanwhile, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric urged factions to take part in the talks in good faith and to continue to work towards establishing a conducive environment for a constructive dialogue.
Sudan’s military leader Burhan also called on political blocs to engage in the talks.
Demonstrations and protests in various parts of Sudan have continued since the October military coup and have killed nearly 100 people.
Last week, the military body lifted a state of emergency in force since the coup to set the stage for meaningful dialogue that achieves stability for the transitional period. However, one protester was shot and killed on Friday, less than a week later.
