Sudan military council rejects Ethiopia's proposal for peace, accepts African Union's

Sudan's military has rejected a proposal made by Ethiopian mediators and already accepted by the opposition coalition for the creation of a civilian transition body, and instead expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), both of whom are accused of backing the junta’s crackdown against civilians.

The ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) rejected Ethiopia’s proposal on Sunday, saying Ethiopia and the African Union (AU) should be unified in their efforts to mediate between the council and an opposition coalition on the structure of the country's transitional government.

Back in April, Sudan’s military announced that it had unseated president Omar al-Bashir and later imprisoned him. It then set up the TMC to rule the country and promised to hand over after elections.

But protests, under whose pressure Bashir was forced out, have continued in Sudan, with people demanding that more civilians be on the council than military figures during the transition period.

Peaceful protests turned violent earlier this month, when the military started cracking down on demonstrators and using force to disperse sit-ins in the capital Khartoum.

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The ruling generals and the coalition have also been holding talks for several weeks, but have so far failed to find a way out of the crisis.

In the meantime, Ethiopian mediators suggested that a ruling sovereign council would be made up of seven civilians and seven members of the military, with one additional seat reserved for an impartial individual, Reuters reported.

The council's spokesman, Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, said on Sunday the council had rejected Ethiopia's proposal, but had agreed in principle to the African Union's plan, details of which were not immediately known.

"The African Union's initiative came first," said Kabbashi, adding that the council had not studied the Ethiopian initiative, which he described as unilateral.

"We asked the mediators to unite their efforts and submit a joint paper as soon as possible to return the parties to negotiations," Kabbashi added.

"The president (of the military council) clarified that he gave the mediators until tomorrow to present the joint vision," said Yasser al-Atta, a member of the military council.

Atta also went on to dismiss reports that Saudi Arabia and UAE interfere in Sudan’s internal affairs.

"We do not accept dictations from any country," Atta said. "Saudi Arabia and the UAE have not and will not dictate political or economic conditions."

Both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have announced their support for the transitional military council. They have also expressed support for measures taken by the council following Bashir’s ouster.

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In a separate statement on Saturday, the deputy head of the military council, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, thanked both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, saying they have provided the country with assistance without interfering in its affairs.

Dagalo, currently the second most powerful man in Sudan, has had close ties with both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, since his country joined a Saudi-led war against Yemen more than four years ago.

He has been overseeing Sudan’s more than 10,000 ground troops in Yemen.

Back in May, the general met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a visit to the kingdom. Reports said Riyadh pledged to continue supporting the military if Khartoum agrees to keep its forces in Yemen.

Dagalo said on Friday that Khartoum deployed some 30,000 troops to join the coalition in Yemen.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the Saudi-led war has claimed the lives of over 60,000 Yemenis since January 2016.

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