Politics
Government
International Relations
Political events
Peace negotiations
Middle Eastern Affairs
#SudanCoup thread: Gen. Burhan, a chastened leader of the ill-timed and unpopular military coup in Sudan, has summoned a @UN envoy to facilitate negotiations in Khartoum with a defiant and confident Prime Minister Hamdok.
Gen. Burhan has responded to two days of peaceful street protests and pressure from the international community by releasing Prime Minister Hamdok and his wife from captivity in the Republican Palace. The Hamdoks have returned to their home in Khartoum North.
Burhan has invited Volker Perthes of Germany -- the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan -- to engage in shuttle diplomacy with Hamdok. Perthes has already met three times with each party.
Perthes plans a fourth round of shuttle negotiations between the parties. Hamdok, despite remaining under house arrest, refuses to cave to Gen. Burhan's autocratic demands. For two days, people have refused to report to work, in protest of the coup.
Hamdok, backed by the street, insists on a return of civilian government leaders who had been arbitrarily arrested.
On the afternoon of Oct. 27, teachers' unions in Sudan's regions of N. Kordofan, W. Kordofan, and S. Kordofan ordered schools closed until further notice. Protest leaders plan a sit-in at the Sufanese army headquarters in Khartoum on Friday afternoon, Oct. 29.
The Sudan coup is unraveling. Gen. Burhan and his Sudan Armed Forces troops who had been cheering and swaggering on October 25, now are demoralized. Soldiers have returned to their quarters, quietly playing cards and watching football.
Some international workers in Khartoum are planning to leave temporarily. A plane guarded by U.S. Marines quietly landed at the Khartoum airport at 3:00 a.m. on October 27. By 4:00 a.m., the plane had departed, carrying American evacuees, including some embassy staff.
Meanwhile, while chaos claims the attention of Khartoum, there are unconfirmed reports that South Sudanese troops are nearing the disputed oil-producing border region of Abyei. International observers will be watching.
Peaceful protests are planned for October 30 in Khartoum and other cities across Sudan, with march routes and locations to be announced. The mood of the street is soaring while the spirits of the army troops are sinking.
Jubilation in the streets of Khartoum tonight and defiance of the #SudanCoup. Video via @ThomasVLinge
Loading suggestions...