Sudan opposition says to nominate members for transitional council

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‍Sudan's opposition plans to nominate eight members of a transitional council and one prominent economist to head a government, a leader in the alliance of protesters and opposition groups said on Monday.

The plan appears to build on a proposal by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed presented during a mediation visit to Khartoum last week. Abiy's visit was to help break the deadlock between the country's military rulers and the civilian opposition in efforts to agree on a transition to democracy.

The Ethiopian official proposed a 15-member transitional council consisting of eight civilians and seven army officers to lead the country during the transition.

Tensions have soared in Sudan since security forces violently broke up a protest camp in central Khartoum a week ago, killing dozens of protesters. The opposition has responded by declaring civil disobedience that has curtailed life in the capital.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (L) meets the chief of Sudan's ruling military council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Khartoum, Sudan, June 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

An opposition leader said that the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) alliance planned to announce nominating Abdullah Hamdouk, a former executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, as new prime minister.

U.S. envoy to visit Sudan

Top U.S. diplomat for Africa Tibor Nagy was due to travel to Sudan this week to push for the resumption of talks on a democratic transition as well as to urge an end to a bloody crackdown on protesters, said the State Department in Washington on Monday.

Tibor plans to meet both members of the military leadership and protest leaders in Khartoum.

The U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs is to leave on the trip on Wednesday and also visit Ethiopia to discuss the Sudan crisis with the regional power as well as the African Union.

"He will call for a cessation of attacks against civilians and urge parties to work toward creating an enabling environment" for talks to resume, said the State Department statement.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (C) is welcomed at Khartoum international airport, Sudan, June 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

Stability in Sudan is crucial for a volatile region struggling with conflict and insurgencies from the Horn of Africa to Egypt and Libya.

Rebel leaders deported

Earlier on Monday, the People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), one of the country's main rebel groups, said the military rulers had released three of its leaders after several days in detention and expelled them to South Sudan.

Yasir Arman, the most prominent of the three men and the deputy head of the SPLM-N, was detained last Wednesday after returning from exile following the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir in April.

The two others, SPLM-N secretary-general Ismail Jallab and spokesman Mubarak Ardol, were arrested after meeting the visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister as he tried to mediate between the military council and civilian opposition.

A statement from SPLM-N chairman Malik Agar said the three officials had been “denied access to their accommodation” and deported in a military aircraft to Juba, South Sudan's capital.

"This happened despite their rejection of the forceful deportation," the statement said, adding that the move showed the military council's intention "not to hand power to the civilians and not to reach peace."

(Cover photo: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (R) meets opposition leaders to mediate in the political crisis that has followed the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir at the Ethiopian Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, June 7, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters