U.N. envoy hopes to find a way out of the Sudan crisis in a few days
Coup two and a half years after Omar al-Bashir was overthrown
Marcus Stuart (MS)September 25, 2026
The national and international mediation efforts to resolve the political crisis in Sudan should bear fruit in the coming days, the UN special envoy said on Monday.
A week ago, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan overthrew Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's cabinet and arrested important politicians. Hamdok is still under house arrest in his residence, said Volker Perthes via video link from Sudan to reporters in New York.
"In Khartoum there are numerous mediation efforts by various actors," said Perthes. "We support some of these efforts, propose initiatives and ideas, and coordinate with some of these facilitators."
"They are larger packages that are being negotiated and they hope that within the next few days ... the outline of a package will become visible," he said. "There is a general feeling that a way out should be found."
Perthes said he could not comment on the demands, conditions or positions of Hamdok and Burhan as the mediators shuttled back and forth between the two. However, he said negotiations could only be conducted between people who are at large, "referring to the detained officers.
A statement from the Ministry of Information, which represents the civilian authorities, said Hamdok said the solution to the crisis would be to release all detainees and get his cabinet back to work, and that he would not recognize the coup plotters' decisions.
Politicians involved in the mediation effort say the main compromise under discussion is the proposal to give Hamdok full executive powers and appoint a cabinet of technocrats.
The proposal, which sources say was made by all sides, would abolish the 14-member Sovereign Council and replace it with a three-member Honorary Council sharing power.
Political parties, rebel groups and the military - partners in the government before the coup - would be represented in parliament, and the military would continue to lead a security and defense council, it said.
The coup came two and a half years after the overthrow of the authoritarian Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled Sudan, the third largest country in Africa for three decades, in a popular uprising.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Saturday to call for an end to military rule and the reinstatement of a civilian-led government. Security forces shot three people to death, according to a medical union, bringing the death toll to 15 since the coup.
The medical union and an eyewitness reported that security forces fired tear gas and sharp bullets at citizens in a neighborhood of Omdurman on Monday. One person was shot in the shoulder and three others were injured, the Sudanese Doctors Central Committee said in a statement.
Burhan said he removed cabinet to prevent civil war after civilian politicians allegedly fueled hostility towards the armed forces. He says he remains committed to a democratic transition, including elections in July 2023.
Several professional groups reaffirmed their commitment to general strikes in protest against the coup on Monday, and resistance committees began to schedule new protests and civil disobedience.
