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Sudanese military and opposition resume talks after street violence
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) delivers an address after the Ramadan prayers and Iftar organized by Sultan of Darfur Ahmed Hussain in Khartoum, Sudan, May 18, 2019. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
20/05/2019
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's ruling military council restarted talks late on Sunday with an alliance of protest and opposition groups that is pushing for a civilian-led transition to democracy.
Both sides have signalled that they are close to an agreement over a three-year transition, but more than six hours of overnight talks at the presidential palace in Khartoum failed to produce a breakthrough.
The negotiations are due to resume on Monday evening.
The Transitional Military Council (TMC) had suspended the talks late on Wednesday after two outbreaks of violence around protest sites in Khartoum.
Street protests and a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry have continued since the army ousted and arrested former President Omar al-Bashir on April 11.
Demonstrators are calling for a rapid transition to civilian rule, and demanding justice over the deaths of dozens of people killed since protests triggered by an economic crisis and decades of repressive rule spread across Sudan from Dec. 19.
The TMC and the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) have agreed on a three-year transition before elections, but have been deadlocked over whether civilians or the military would control a sovereign council that would hold ultimate power.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which spearheaded protests against Bashir and heads the DFCF, has accused the TMC of dragging its feet in the talks and has sought to increase pressure on the council by expanding protests.
It also held the TMC responsible for street violence over the past week in which several protesters were killed and dozens wounded.
The council accused protesters of not respecting an understanding on de-escalation while talks were under way.
(Reporting by Eltayeb Siddig and Nadine Awadalla; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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