The UN special envoy for Sudan met with the head of the Rapid Support Forces, urging him to allow peaceful protests Saturday and avoid confrontation in the wake of a military coup earlier this week.
Pro-democracy activist groups have called for “million-person” marches across the country Saturday to press demands for re-instating a deposed transitional government and releasing senior political figures from detention.
The UN envoy, Volker Perthes, met late Friday with Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, a coup leader seen as close to Sudan's strongman, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.
Perthes said in a message posted on Twitter that he “stressed the need for calm, allowing peaceful protest and avoiding any confrontation” in his talks with Dagalo.
In a separate statement, Perthes said the UN's transition mission “is actively coordinating with mediation efforts currently underway to facilitate an inclusive dialogue, which remains the only path toward a peaceful solution to the current crisis.”
