Sudan’s military and protests leaders have agreed to resume talks on the formation of a transitional council, an Ethiopian envoy said on Tuesday. The development follows the opposition alliance’s decision to end its civil disobedience campaign and widespread strikes.
“The Alliance for Freedom and Change agreed to end the civil disobedience (campaign) from today,” special envoy Mahmoud Drir, who has been mediating between the military and protest alliance, told reporters in Khartoum. “Both sides have also agreed to resume talks soon.”
Drir added that Sudan’s Transitional Military Council has agreed to release political prisoners as a confidence-building measure.
“The TMC (Transitional Military Council” as a goodwill gesture has agreed to release all political detainees,” Drir said, without giving any other detail.
Sudan’s military and protest leaders have been engaged in on-and-off talks on the handover of authority to a civilian government since the ousting of long-time president Omar Al Bashir in April. But the negotiation talks between the two sides collapsed following the violent dispersal of a sit-in protest on June 3 that left more than 100 people dead.
The protest leaders launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign from Sunday in wake of the brutal attack that dealt a blow to hopes of a transition towards democratic elections.
The protest and opposition alliance released a statement in which it said it would suspend the strike from Wednesday until further notice, though it encouraged people to remain mobilized for possible further action.
The United Nations Security Council also released a statement on Tuesday calling out all parties “to continue working together towards a consensual solution to the current crisis.”
Last week, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed flew to Sudan to mediate when the talks were suspended. According to opposition sources, Abiy had proposed a 15-member transitional council comprising eight civilians and seven military officers with a rotating presidency.
