Washington joined the mediation efforts to ease the political crisis in Sudan, as the US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman urged the parties to “avoid the brinkmanship” and stop mutual accusations, calling for resolving any differences through “dialogue and without preconditions.”
In a statement, the US State Department said that Feltman spoke with Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok on October 12, as well as with the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, on October 13.
Feltman stressed “the importance of adhering to the constitutional document that governs the transitional period” in Sudan, and the Juba Peace Agreement for the year 2020.
On the other hand, thousands of Sudanese lawyers organized a march in Khartoum on Thursday.
They demanded that Al-Burhan steps down and hands over the chairmanship of the council to civilians on the specified date, in compliance with the constitutional document that stipulated the sharing of the presidency of the Sovereign Council between civilians and military personnel during the transitional period.
The protesting lawyers also demanded that Al-Burhan hand over wanted persons to the International Criminal Court, including ousted President Omar al-Bashir.
Army and police forces closed off streets adjacent to the Presidential Palace to prevent the arrival of demonstrators.
Meanwhile, Asharq Al-Awsat correspondent, Mohammad Al-Amin Yassin, was beaten by an army officer while he was covering the event.