ANSD : Two leaders arrested amid tensions with army: Sudan opposition

SAT 23 - 11 - 2024

Date: Jul 3, 2019
Source: The Daily Star

Two leaders arrested amid tensions with army: Sudan opposition

Ethiopian mediator urges Sudan Army and opposition to hold direct talks Wednesday

_{Associated Press}
KHARTOUM: A Sudanese opposition group says security forces have arrested two of its leaders amid a months-long standoff with the ruling military council.

The Sudanese Professionals' Association, which has spearheaded the protests demanding civilian rule, said Tuesday the arrests took place in the capital, Khartoum, and the northern city of Atbara, the birthplace of the uprising that led the military to overthrow and jail Omar al-Bashir in April.

The SPA says security forces also searched houses of three other leaders.

A spokesman for police did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

The arrests come two days after protesters flooded the streets of Sudan's main cities Sunday in the biggest show of numbers since security forces cleared a sit-in last month.

Ethiopian mediator urges Sudan Army and opposition to hold direct talks Wednesday

_Reuters
KHARTOUM: Ethiopia's mediator in the Sudan crisis Tuesday urged the Sudanese transitional military council and opposition groups to hold direct talks on Wednesday to agree on remaining unresolved issues.

Both sides have agreed on a proposal presented by the Ethiopian and African Union mediators, but they disagree over the structure of a sovereign council that is meant to lead the country, Mahmud Dirir, the Ethiopian mediator, told a press conference in Khartoum.

UAE calls for dialogue in Sudan to avoid violence

_{Agence France Presse}
ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates Tuesday called on Sudan's army and protesters to continue dialogue and avoid violence after protest leaders called for a one-day "civil disobedience" campaign.

"It is important for dialogue to continue in Sudan away from disputes and towards an agreement regarding transition arrangements," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash wrote on Twitter.

He said any transition should guarantee the establishment of a stable constitutional system.

Sudanese protest leaders called Monday for the nationwide "civil disobedience" campaign on July 14, just a day after they organized mass protests against the ruling generals who took over following the ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir in April.

The move, which aims to increase pressure on the generals to hand power to a civilian administration, will be preceded by further mass protests on July 13, protest leaders said.

The civil disobedience campaign, the second such general strike in less than a month, comes as protest leaders and ruling generals traded blame for the latest violence during the mass "million-man" march on Sunday that left 10 dead and scores wounded.

"It is essential to avoid confrontation and escalation. It is clear that the opposition and the army need each other and need to reach agreement and avoid escalation of the crisis," Gargash said.

Calls for the civil disobedience campaign, the second such general strike in less than a month, came as the two sides traded blame for violence during Sunday's "million-man" that left 10 dead and scores wounded.

Ethiopia and the African Union have been mediating between the two sides but have yet to achieve a breakthrough.

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