Dozens of lawyers also gathered outside the main courthouse complex in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city, calling for civilian rule and for people to join mass demonstrations planned for Sunday. They chanted: “Freedom, peace, and justice. Civilian (rule) is the people’s choice.”
Demonstrations in Khartoum have become rare since security forces broke up a sit-in outside the Defense Ministry on June 3, leaving more than 100 people dead, according to medical sources.
The sit-in had become the focal point of protests against former president Omar al-Bashir and the military council that ousted him on April 11.
Its dispersal caused the collapse of stalled talks between the military council and a coalition of opposition and protest groups over how to manage a transition towards elections.
Mediators led by Ethiopia’s prime minister and the African Union have since been trying to broker a return to direct talks between the two sides.
On Thursday they presented a joint proposal to the two sides, after the military council rejected a previous Ethiopian proposal and called for mediation efforts to be unified.
A draft of the joint proposal seen by Reuters suggested few changes from the previous Ethiopian proposal.
Activists who led months of protests against Bashir have called for a million-strong march on Sunday to try to revive street pressure on the military council and call for it to cede power to civilians.
Based on Reuters
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