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Ethiopian PM Attempts Mediation of Sudan Crisis

by VOA News

   Ethiopia's prime minister met Friday with Sudan's ruling generals and
   opposition leaders to try to ease the political crisis that has gripped
   Sudan since the overthrow of longtime President Omar al-Bashir.
   Upon arriving in Khartoum, Abiy Ahmed conferred with the ruling
   Transitional Military Council (TMC), including TMC chief Gen.
   Abdel-Fattah Burhan. He later met separately with leaders of the Forces
   for Freedom and Change (FFC), a coalition of political groups whose
   protests helped drive Bashir from power in April.
   Abiy said after the talks that Sudan's army, people and political
   forces needed to take "quick steps toward a democratic and consensual
   transition period," the French news agency AFP said.
   Abiy has won praise for reforms inside Ethiopia and for making peace
   with his country's neighbor and longtime foe, Eritrea.
   There was no sign Friday, however, of a revival of talks between
   Sudan's military and opposition.

   A military crackdown on the main protest site in Khartoum earlier this
   week killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds more.
   Doctors close to the protesters said Friday that at least 113 people
   had been killed in the crackdown. The Sudanese health ministry put the
   death toll at 61.
   Many observers blamed the violence on the paramilitary Rapid Support
   Forces, who have their origins in the notorious Janjaweed militias that
   Bashir used during the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s.
   The military removed Bashir from power on April 11, following months of
   mass protests.
   On Thursday, the African Union said it had suspended Sudan from all
   activities until a civilian-led government was formed.
   The TMC and FFC agreed in principle last month to form a post-Bashir
   transitional government, but talks stalled over which side would have
   ultimate decision-making authority.