Egypt president urges Sudanese to talk, denies backing coup

13/1/2022 12:18

        Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Wednesday urged rival factions in Sudan to engage in talks to move forward in their transition to democracy after a coup toppled the civilian-led government.
        
        The Oct. 25 military takeover has upended Sudan's plans to move to democracy after three decades of repression and international sanctions under autocrat Omar al-Bashir. A popular uprising forced the military's overthrow of al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019.
        
        Egypt, which has cultivated close ties with Sudan in recent years, fears that prolonged deadlock would further destabilize its southern neighbor.
        
        Following the coup, some Sudanese opposition leaders, including former Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi, suspected that Egypt had given a greenlight for the Sudan's military leader, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, to oust Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's government.