Sudan’s military tears up deal with opposition, calls early election

The Sudanese military has declared null and void all previous agreements it had struck with the opposition, a day after security forces launched a deadly crackdown on protesters camping outside the army’s HQ. Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said that the opposition coalition should also shoulder blame for the failure of the Transitional Military Council and the civilian activists to reach a final agreement on the terms of transition to civil rule. Burhan announced that the snap elections would be held in nine months.

The announcement comes after over 35 civilian protesters were reportedly killed in a brutal raid on the long-running sit-in protest on Monday morning. The protesters demanded generals hand over power immediately, while the military insisted that it would let the protesters to form a government when a three-year transitional period ends. The parties have locked horns over who will have the final say in a new sovereign body that was set to function as the country’s legislature during the transition. Sudan has been grappling with political chaos since the ousting of authoritarian president Omar al-Bashir in April.

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