Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Allegedly Visits Khartoum

Saudi Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman allegedly visited Khartoum, Sudan's capital, according to unofficial Sudanese sources reported by Arabi21.

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Bin Salman and other high ranking officials would have met in secre with the Transitional Military Council (TMC), which has been governing the country following the coup against Omar al-Bashir.

Sudan's ruling military council restarted talks late on Sunday with an alliance of protest and opposition groups that is pushing for a civilian-led transition to democracy.

Both sides have signaled that they are close to an agreement over a three-year transition, but more than six hours of overnight talks at the presidential palace in Khartoum failed to produce a breakthrough.

The negotiations are due to resume on Monday evening.

The TMC had suspended the talks late on Wednesday after two outbreaks of violence around protest sites in Khartoum.

Street protests and a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry have continued since the army ousted and arrested former President Omar al-Bashir on April 11.

Demonstrators are calling for a rapid transition to civilian rule, and demanding justice over the deaths of dozens of people killed since protests triggered by an economic crisis and decades of repressive rule spread across Sudan from Dec. 19.

The TMC and the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) have agreed on a three-year transition before elections, but have been deadlocked over whether civilians or the military would control a sovereign council that would hold ultimate power.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which spearheaded protests against Bashir and heads the DFCF, has accused the TMC of dragging its feet in the talks and has sought to increase pressure on the council by expanding protests.

It also held the TMC responsible for street violence over the past week in which several protesters were killed and dozens wounded.

The council accused protesters of not respecting an understanding of de-escalation while talks were under way.