A leading Sudanese protest group on Sunday rejected a United Nations initiative to hold talks with the military aimed at restoring the country\u2019s democratic transition following an October coup.
The move suggests Sudan’s political deadlock and relentless street protests are likely to continue, with at least 60 people killed since the military takeover.
The UN offer Saturday came a week after embattled Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned, citing a failure to reach compromise between the generals and the pro-democracy movement.
The Oct. 25 coup scuttled hopes of a peaceful transition, over two years after a popular uprising forced the military overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government.
In a statement, the Sudanese Professionals\u2019 Association, which led the upraising against al-Bashir, said the \u201conly way\u201d out of the ongoing crisis is through the removal of the generals from power. It seeks a fully civilian government to lead the transition, underlined by the motto \u201cNo negotiations, no compromise, no power-sharing\u201d with the military.
The SPA has been the backbone of anti-coup protests, alongside youth groups known as the Resistance Committees.
Protesters continued their marches in Khartoum on Sunday, with security forces firing tear gas in at least one location to disperse demonstrators, according to activist Nazim Sirag. There were no immediate reports of causalities.
Volker Perthes, the UN envoy for Sudan, said that the talks would be inclusive to try to reach a \u201csustainable path forward towards democracy and peace\u201d in the country.
\u201cIt is time to end the violence and enter into a constructive process. This process will be inclusive,\u201d he said.
Though the envoy has yet to offer details of the U.N.-facilitated political process, the SPA’s rejection deals a blow to his efforts to bring the generals and the pro-democracy movement to the negotiating table.
Perthes is planning to offer more details in a news conference in Khartoum on Monday.
The SPA said Perthes\u2019 moves have been \u201ccontroversial,\u201d citing his efforts in supporting a deal Hamdok stuck with the military in November that reinstated him but sidelined the pro-democracy movement.
\u201cHe has to listen carefully to the aims of our proud people and their revolutionary forces in establishing a fully civilian, national rule,\u201d it said.
World and regional powers welcomed the UN initiative.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates urged all Sudanese players to \u201cseize this opportunity to restore the country\u2019s transition to civilian democracy\u201d in accordance with the 2019 constructional document that establishing the transitional government.
At the United Nations, five countries \u2013 the US, UK, Albania, France and Norway \u2013 requested a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan. Diplomats said it will likely take place Tuesday or Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A leading Sudanese protest group on Sunday rejected a United Nations initiative to hold talks with the military aimed at restoring the country\u2019s democratic transition following an October coup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c59-islamic-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n