Tibor Nagy, the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, on Wednesday joined an international effort to urge Sudan’s military rulers to enter a deal with the protest and opposition leaders over a transition to democracy two months after the army ousted former President Omar al-Bashir, reported Reuters. Bashir’s three decades of strongman rule resulted in a nationwide movement calling for a civilian government.
Nagy met with the main opposition coalition and held talks with Sudan’s acting Deputy Foreign Minister Ilham Ibrahim on Wednesday. He urged the parties to work toward an environment conducive to the resumption of negotiations.
After the meeting, the main opposition coalition said that it would only participate in indirect talks and it would impose other conditions.
“We have informed the Ethiopian prime minister that we refuse to have direct negotiations with the transitional military council,” said Madani Abbas Madani, a leader of the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces. “The point of contention between us is clear and our terms are clear; we are talking now about issues of transition to civilian rule and the rights of martyrs.”
The US also appointed Donald Booth, a retired US ambassador, and former special envoy, as its envoy for Sudan amid ongoing political turmoil in the African nation.
On Tuesday, an Ethiopian envoy claimed that the military and opposition groups have agreed to resume talks on the formation of a transitional council that suspended after the violent attack on a protest sit-in on June 3 which led to at least 118 deaths.
In wake of the attack, the alliance of protesters and opposition groups called for a civil disobedience campaign on Sunday. The strike continued till Tuesday as the protest group suspended the campaign. In Khartoum, almost all the people returned to work on Wednesday and store owners opened their shops.
