Sudan opposition accepts mediation

KHARTOUM: Sudan’s main alliance of opposition groups and protesters said on Friday it would be open to having Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed mediate between them and the country’s military rulers under certain conditions. Among opposition demands are that the ruling Transitional Military Council take responsibility for the deadly dispersal of a protest sit-in on Monday, an international investigation into the incident is launched and political prisoners are released. Ethiopia’s prime minister held separate talks with Sudan’s military rulers and opposition in Khartoum on Friday in a bid to ease the political crisis that has followed the overthrow of President Omar al Bashir.

The Ethiopian initiative follows the worst bloodshed in Sudan since Bashir was ousted by the military in April after four months of protests against his repressive three-decade rule. The opposition says 113 people were killed in the storming of a civilian protest camp on Monday and a subsequent wider crackdown. The government put the toll at 61 people, including three security personnel. At Khartoum airport, Abiy was greeted by Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, spokesman for Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council. — Reuters