Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, US back UN call for Sudan talks to end post-coup crisis
Khartoum | Times of Sudan
The Quad made up of Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and the US backed on Saturday the UN’s invitation to Sudan’s military leaders, political groups, and other parties to discuss a way to end the crisis started by the October 25 coup.
The UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Volker Perthes, announced launching an intra-Sudanese political process aimed at finding a way out of the current political crisis and mapping a path towards democracy and peace.
“It is time to end the violence and enter into a constructive process. This process will be inclusive. All key civilian and military stakeholders, including armed movements, political parties, civil society, women’s groups, and resistance committees will be invited to participate in the UN-facilitated political process,” Perthes said.
Sudan’s crisis started when the military launched a coup in October, and the Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, was put under house arrest and the government was rendered ineffective.
Hamdok, was later reinstated after signing a political agreement with General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan on November 21, and allowed him to form an independent cabinet of technocrats, until an election could be held in July 2023.
However, Hamdok resigned on December 3 and said he was “unable to combine all the components of the transition to reach a unified vision” and described the crisis in the country as essentially a political one, but that included aspects of the economy and social life.
Throughout all of those developments violent protests continued in the streets, and medics said at least 60 civilians were killed.
The Quad urged Sudanese parties to seize the UN’s invitation as an opportunity to restore the country’s transition to civilian democracy.
“We strongly support this UN-facilitated, Sudanese-led dialogue initiative. We urge all Sudanese political actors to seize this opportunity to restore the country’s transition to civilian democracy, in line with the 2019 Constitutional Declaration,” the Quad’s statement read.
