KHARTOUM: Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Sunday lifted a state of emergency imposed since last year’s military coup, the ruling sovereign council said.

Sudan has been reeling from deepening unrest since Burhan led the October 25 coup, upending a fragile transition following the 2019 ouster of president Omar Bashir.

Burhan “issued a decree lifting the state of emergency nationwide,” the council said in a statement.
The order was made “to prepare the atmosphere for a fruitful and meaningful dialogue that achieves stability for the transitional period,” it added.

Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, is also struggling from a plunging economy due to decades of international isolation and mismanagement under Bashir.

The UN, along with the African Union and regional bloc IGAD, have been pushing to facilitate Sudanese-led talks to resolve the crisis.

Western governments have backed the UN-AU-IGAD bid and urged Sudanese factions to participate in the process.

Burhan has pledged to free political detainees to set the stage for talks among Sudanese factions.

Last month, Sudanese authorities released several anti-coup civilian leaders.

AFP