South Sudan urges Sudanese parties to use dialogue to resolve impasse

Juba, South Sudan | Xinhua | South Sudan on Monday urged members of the neighboring Sudan transitional unity to dialogue in order to defuse tension following the military takeover.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation called on Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, head of the Sudan Sovereign Council and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to use dialogue to solve their differences and return the country to normalcy.

“We encourage them to quickly return to dialogue as the appropriate way to address their differences. We recognize that stability in Sudan has a direct bearing on our common goal of building greater stability in the region,” it said in a statement issued in Juba.

Sudan established the transitional government in the aftermath of street protests that ousted former President Omar Al-Bashir in April 2019.

The coalition led by Hamdok comprises Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), a civilian-led coalition and the military Sudan Sovereign Council.

However, the coalition appeared to have cracks as the military and civilian-led government failed to agree on the transition to civilian rule.

South Sudan said that the path towards lasting peace in Sudan will inevitably be bumpy with difficult choices along the way, adding that it remains confident of the Sudanese leaders resolving the current political impasse.

South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011, and the two countries share the longest undemarcated border in Africa.

Oil-dependent Juba depends on Sudan oil infrastructure to transport its crude through Port Sudan.

The two governments recently agreed to reopen four border cross-points along their common border in October to facilitate trade and free movement of their people.

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Xinhua