KHARTOUM, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — African Union and Ethiopian mediators invited Sudan’s ruling generals and protest leaders to resume talks, as they seek a breakthrough on creating a new governing body for the country.
The call to attend talks planned for Wednesday comes as tension remains high between the two sides after a deadly crackdown on June 3 on a protest camp that killed dozens and wounded hundreds in Khartoum.
“We have invited the two parties for a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday), and we have fixed for them a time and place,” said African Union envoy Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt at a joint press conference with his Ethiopian counterpart Mahmoud Dirir.
He did not reveal the time and venue for the talks.
“It is not appropriate for political and security reasons to disclose the time and venue… but this invitation has been sent to both parties,” Lebatt said.
It was still unclear whether the two groups had agreed to talk.
Negotiations between the generals and protest leaders collapsed in May over the make-up of the governing body and who should lead it — a civilian or a soldier.
The mediators have come up with a compromise to resolve the crisis that has rocked Sudan for months, following the military ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir in April on the back of widespread protests against his rule.
“The document has been presented to the two parties and they considered it as a good base for negotiations,” Lebatt said.
But Ethiopian envoy Dirir cautioned that there remained “one point where opinions are conflicting and that is the sovereign council,” referring to the planned governing body.
The blueprint drafted by the mediators calls for a civilian-majority governing body. — NNN-AGENCIES