Ethiopia's prime minister Friday called
for a "quick" democratic transition in Sudan as he met the country's
ruling generals and protest leaders, days after a deadly crackdown
killed dozens of demonstrators in the capital.
Abiy Ahmed, who has emerged as a key regional leader, arrived in
Khartoum to revive talks between the Sudanese generals and protest
leaders after the African Union suspended Sudan on Thursday until the
military makes way for a civilian-led transitional authority.
The move by the African bloc was backed by the European Union amid a
chorus of condemnation of Sudan's military rulers over Monday's deadly
crackdown on a weeks-long sit-in outside army headquarters demanding
civilian rule.
"The army, the people and political forces have to act with courage and
responsibility by taking quick steps towards a democratic and consensual
transitional period," Abiy said in a signed statement issued to
reporters after he held separate meetings with the generals and protest
leaders.
"The army has to protect the security of the country and its people and
political forces have to think about the future of the country," he
said.
Ethiopia and Sudan share a long frontier and experts say instability in one sparks concern in the other.
Protest leaders welcomed Abiy's mediation but insisted that any fresh
talks with the generals could happen only if certain conditions were
met.
"The Transitional Military Council has to admit the crime it committed,"
Omar al-Digeir, a prominent leader from the protest movement, the
Alliance for Freedom and Change, told reporters.
He said all "military elements should also be removed from the streets
across the country" and called for an international probe into "the
massacre at the sit-in".
The generals are ready to sit for "negotiations and reach a solution at
any time", foreign ministry official Hassan Ahmed told reporters.
- 'State of terror' -
Digeir said the military council should also restore access to the internet and allow public and media freedoms.
Since the deadly assault, fearful Khartoum residents have remained
largely indoors, leaving the streets virtually deserted at a time when
Muslims are normally out celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Paramilitaries of the feared Rapid Support Forces, who have their
origins in the notorious Janjaweed militia unleashed in the conflict in
the western region of Darfur in 2003 and 2004, have remained stationed
in a number of the capital's main squares.
Others have been seen out on patrol in their trademark pickup trucks mounted with heavy machine guns or rocket launchers.
"We're living in a state of terror because of sporadic gunfire," a resident of south Khartoum told AFP.
He said he was "afraid for (his) children to go out in the street," as the paramilitaries patrolled parts of the capital.
In north Khartoum, riot police fired tear gas on Thursday evening after
protesters put up makeshift roadblocks made from rocks, bricks and tree
trunks.
RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is deputy head of the ruling
military council, has warned he will not "allow chaos" and has vowed to
tear down all barricades.
The protesters and the military authorities have given sharply divergent death tolls for the crackdown.
Doctors close to the demonstrators say 113 people were killed in
Khartoum, including 40 whose bodies were pulled out of the Nile.
The health ministry says 61 people died nationwide, 52 of them by "live ammunition" in Khartoum.
The World Health Organization says 784 people were wounded according to a
survey of hospitals, adding that the actual number could be higher.
- Pressure on generals -
The crackdown was launched after talks broke down between protest
leaders and the generals on a new transitional ruling body to replace
the military council that took power after the ouster of president Omar
al-Bashir on April 11.
Despite several initial breakthroughs, the talks hit a deadlock over the
demonstrators' demand -- backed by Western and most African governments
-- for it to have a civilian majority and a civilian leader.
The African Union, which has its headquarters in the Ethiopian capital
Addis Ababa, said it was suspending Sudan, "until the effective
establishment of a civilian-led Transitional Authority, as the only way
to allow the Sudan to exit from the current crisis".
The European Union said it joined the AU in calling for "an immediate
end to violence and a credible enquiry into the criminal events of the
last days".
The generals have so far been shielded from condemnation at the United
Nations by China, which has made significant investments in Sudan.
Beijing, backed by Moscow, blocked a bid at the UN Security Council on
Tuesday to condemn the killing of civilians in Sudan and issue a
pressing call from world powers for an immediate halt to the violence,
diplomats said.
"Sudan is extremely strategic for China," said Marc Lavergne of France's National Centre for Scientific Research.
"It has huge potential resources which are not being exploited."
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