Sudan..Al-Burhan announces acceptance of the tripartite mechanism's call for dialogue, and the Alliance for Freedom and Change is boycotting it

The head of the Transitional Sovereign Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, announced the acceptance of the tripartite mechanism’s invitation for dialogue, while the “Forces of Freedom and Change” coalition confirmed its boycott of the dialogue sessions that will start today, Wednesday.

Al-Burhan said, in a speech on Tuesday evening, "We accepted the invitation of the tripartite mechanism for dialogue," considering that "the dialogue that will start tomorrow is a historic opportunity to complete the transitional period."

Al-Burhan called on all components to respond to the dialogue, reiterating their commitment to distance the military establishment from politics.

For his part, member of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Hadi Idris, affirmed his support and participation in the dialogue.

After meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Faye, Idris stressed that Sudan is going through circumstances that require the parties to the political crisis, both civilians and soldiers, to move and sit for dialogue to address the crisis.

The tripartite mechanism of the United Nations, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa (IGAD) had previously announced direct talks between the political forces on Wednesday.

Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan lifted the state of emergency imposed at the end of last month since the army took control of the reins of power, in what was described as a confidence-building measure.

But the civil coalition of the "Forces of Freedom and Change", the former ruling, said - in a statement - that it will not participate in the talks, because it includes parties that he said "support the coup."

The Forces for Freedom and Change stated - in a statement on Monday - that the dialogue in which military and civilian parties participate "does not address the nature of the current crisis represented by the October 25 coup, which any political process must lead to its complete end and the establishment of a democratic civil authority."

Freedom and Change is the coalition that led the protests that toppled the rule of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, after a rule that lasted 3 decades.