The United States and allies have welcomed the signing of an initial deal between Sudan’s military and civilian leaders to end a political crisis sparked last year by a coup.
Monday’s agreement comes just over a year after Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in October 2021, derailing a rocky transition to civilian rule that had started with the 2019 overthrow of autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.
Over the past year, Sudan has seen near-weekly protests and a crackdown that pro-democracy medics say has killed at least 121 people, a spiralling economic crisis and a rise in ethnic violence in several remote regions.
The deal was signed by Burhan, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and multiple civilian groups, most notably the Forces for Freedom and Change – the main civilian faction that was ousted in the coup.
The deal – based on a proposal by the Sudanese Bar Association – was negotiated in the presence of officials from the United Nations, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the FFC.
The signing was attended by UN special representative Volker Perthes and AU ambassador Mohamed Belaish.
Credit: rfi
