Sudan’s rivals hold dialogue to solve months-long political crisis

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan’s ruling military and civilians started direct talks on Wednesday to discuss ways of resolving a months-long political crisis in the country.

A host of political parties have showed up for the talks, including the Democratic Union Party (DUP), Popular Congress Party and former rebel movements which signed the Juba Peace agreement.

The talks, however, were boycotted by the main opposition groups as the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) and the so-called Resistance Committee, which have spearheaded protests against the military in recent months.

The talks have been facilitated by Tripartite Mechanism, which consists of the African Union, the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

On Tuesday, Sudan’s army chief said the dialogue was a historic opportunity to end the transition period.

Sudan has been in turmoil since last October, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government, a move decried by political forces as a "military coup."

At least 100 people have been killed in protests against the military since October, according to Sudanese medics.