Army chief Burhan holds talks with Sudanese leaders

Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has held secret talks with political leaders and civil society groups to agree steps toward a national dialogue, political sources told Al Jazeera.

The army-led Transitional Sovereignty Council is trying to create conditions for a Sudanese dialogue conference after a year of war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The consultations include dropping death-penalty charges against opposition leaders and forming a preparatory committee for the proposed meeting. Sources say the focus is on a comprehensive conference that brings together key political players to end the conflict.

Participants have broadly agreed on practical steps to make dialogue possible. They include halting hostile media campaigns and suspending criminal charges that carry the death penalty against dozens of opponents, including members of the Somoud Alliance led by former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok. The charges against Hamdok and others include war crimes and undermining the constitution, though Somoud denies supporting the RSF.

A preparatory committee made up of independent figures would decide who joins the dialogue, set the agenda, choose the venue and date, and invite international monitors. Hatem al-Sir, an adviser to the Democratic Unionist Party-Original, said Khartoum is seeing intense political activity aimed at building national consensus with backing from regional powers. Meanwhile, the UN, African Union, EU, IGAD and Arab League have been pushing for agreement on the dialogue structure, but their latest talks in Addis Ababa ended without progress last week.