Khartoum, June 8 (AFP/APP): Sudan on Wednesday began UN-facilitated direct talks between rival factions hoped to resolve a political crisis sparked by last year’s coup, but with a critical civilian bloc refusing to participate.
Since the coup, Sudan has been rocked by deepening unrest — near-weekly protests, a violent crackdown that has killed over 100 people, and a tumbling economy.
As talks took place in the capital Khartoum, hundreds of people rallied in the east of the city calling for civilian rule, in the latest protest against the October 25 power grab led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse them, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.
“It is important to not let this moment slip,” United Nations special representative Volker Perthes told reporters in Khartoum. “We are asking everybody to work with one another in good faith.”
The military takeover derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule that had been established following the 2019 ouster of long-serving autocratic president Omar al-Bashir.
The UN, African Union and regional bloc IGAD have since March been pushing for Sudanese-led talks to break the political stalemate.
On Tuesday, Burhan hailed the talks as a “historic opportunity” and called on political factions “to not stand as a stumbling block”.
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