This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
Talks between Sudan's ruling generals and protest leaders have entered their second day, with the key issue of forming a new governing body still unresolved.
The talks, which resumed on Wednesday after intense mediation by Ethiopian and African Union envoys, aim to break the deadlock over the composition of the new governing body.
According to a prominent protest leader, Ahmed al-Rabie, the ruling military council insists that the head of the new governing body should be from the army, while protest leaders believe that the head of the state should be a civilian.
The two sides have been at odds over this issue since the army ousted longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April, following widespread protests.
On Wednesday, the first day of the latest round of talks, the two sides did not discuss the crucial issue of the governing body, but instead agreed on some issues, including the release of all political detainees.
A group of 235 fighters from a faction of a Darfur rebel group that is part of the protest movement were released from Al-Huda prison in Omdurman on Thursday.
Protest leaders have exerted pressure on the generals since the June 3 raid on the mass sit-in outside army headquarters, which killed dozens of demonstrators and wounded hundreds.
At least 136 people have been killed across the country since the raid, including more than 100 on June 3, according to doctors close to the umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change.
