International support for the African Union's suspension Sudan's membership and opposition rejects dialogue

International reactions followed the African Union's suspension of Sudan's membership until the handover of power to civilians, while the Forces for Freedom and Change renewed their refusal to call the military council back to negotiate.

Farhan Haq, spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, stressed that the organization is committed to supporting the initiatives of the African Union to re-launch the comprehensive dialogue on the transfer of power in Sudan.

He expressed the Organization's deep concern over the number of deaths in Sudan and urged the security forces to exercise restraint and respect for the rights of the Sudanese people.

In the same vein, the British deputy representative of the Security Council, Jonathan Allen, welcomed the decision of the African Union to suspend Sudan until the handover of power to civilians.

Alain said ongoing reports of violence and intimidation in Sudan were outrageous, adding that such actions were unacceptable and must stop.

For her part, the Secretary of State for African Affairs in the British Foreign Office Harriet Baldwin called on the Sudanese Military Council to stop what it called barbaric attacks on peaceful demonstrators.

This came when the Sudanese ambassador was summoned to London, where he expressed concern about the violence in Sudan and asked the Sudanese ambassador to convey a message to the military council that the British people were afraid of violence against civilians.

In France, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its deep concern over developments in Sudan. In a statement, the foreign ministry reiterated the condemnation of the violence in Khartoum, which it described as the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations.

She reminded the Transitional Military Council of its primary responsibility for the security of all Sudanese. It also called for the resumption of dialogue between the military junta and the opposition with a view to quickly reaching a comprehensive agreement for the establishment of a civilian government.

The French Foreign Ministry said that Paris is determined to continue its work with the African Union and all regional and international parties to achieve a successful peaceful transition.

The US State Department has renewed the condemnation of recent attacks by the junta forces on peaceful protesters in Khartoum. It called on the Transitional Military Council and the rapid support forces to cease violence.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that it is in contact with all forces in Sudan, and supports the resolution of issues through dialogue, stressing the holding of elections to find a solution.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said: "We must restore order and fight extremists and instigators who do not want the situation to stabilize."

African positions
For its part, African countries stressed the UN Security Council on the need for an investigation to clarify the events of the outbreak of the sit-in Khartoum on the third of June, in order to bring those responsible to justice.

This came as the official Sudanese news agency reported that the investigation committee set up by the Sudanese Attorney General began to investigate the events of the Khartoum sit-in.

She referred to the questioning of a number of witnesses and that the Commission would continue its investigations day and night to complete its task in a short time.

In accordance with the decision of the Attorney-General, the Commission includes chiefs of public prosecution, prosecutors, representatives of the police and the military judiciary.

Earlier on Thursday, African Union Peace and Security Council Chairman Patrick Kabua said the council had decided to suspend Sudan's membership in all AU activities until the handover of power to civilian leadership.

If the Sudanese military council failed to hand over power, the African Peace and Security Council would automatically impose punitive measures on individuals and entities impeding the transfer of power.

Kabua called on the African Regional Development Organization (IGAD) to increase its participation in resolving the Sudanese crisis, and also called on the African Commission to make concrete proposals on ways to investigate recent events in Sudan.

For his part, the African Union envoy to Sudan, Mohamed El Hassan Ould Labat, described Sudan's suspension in the African Union as "the normal procedure".

Ould Labbat told the island that the move was aimed at pushing the various Sudanese parties to dialogue and affirmed the will of the African Union to promote an agreement to transfer power to civilians.

Ould Labat stressed that the Union is working to overcome a number of obstacles to the return of the Sudanese parties to the dialogue, and also called for a credible investigation to determine those responsible for the sit-in in front of the General Command of the army in Khartoum.

This came at a time when a diplomatic source at the Ethiopian embassy in Khartoum that Prime Minister Abi Ahmed will visit Khartoum to mediate between the military junta and the opposition alliance on the transition to democracy.

Refusing dialogue
For its part, the forces of freedom and change announced their rejection of the call of the military council to return to negotiate, calling those calls "poisoned" and that "a frank disregard for the blood of those killed."

"The demands are clear and the transitional authority is fully handed over to civilians, as the Declaration of Freedom and Change states," he said. "The accountability of the military junta and all those involved in the crimes committed since 11 April last."

It also called on the forces of freedom and change to "end the Janjawid militias' disbanding of cities, dissolve them and hand over their weapons to the Sudanese army," stressing the continuation of the revolution and civil disobedience until achieving the objectives of the revolution.

On Wednesday evening, the Central Sudan Doctors Committee announced the death toll to 108 people as security broke the Khartoum sit-in and subsequent events.

In contrast, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health said on Thursday that the official number of those killed in the violence that broke out on Monday rose to 61 people.