AU denies it has withdrawn from Tripartite Mechanism for Sudan  

Sudan’s former ruling coalition, the Forces of Freedom and Change, yesterday said it was “important to have the United Nations, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)’s support” during the country’s political crisis.

“It is of utter importance to have the support of the AU, Arab and African countries within the Tripartite Mechanism played by the international community in backing the efforts of Sudan to reach a political solution that ends its coup and achieves the revolution’s aims,” the coalition stressed in a statement.

This came after reports in the Sudan News AGency (SUNA) that the AU had withdrawn from the Trilateral Mechanism, reports the AU has since denied saying they were a result of “inaccurate interpretations of the speech of the Special Representative of the African Union”, Mohamed Belaiche.

Belaiche was reported to have said, during a meeting with the coalition in Khartoum, that the AU could not “participate in a path that is not followed by transparency, honesty and non-exclusion.”

“While Belaiche spoke about the necessity of non-exclusion, he was surrounded by coup supporters,” the coalition added.

General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan led a military coup on 25 October that ended a partnership between the army and civilian parties which was meant to lead to democratic elections. Months of protests have ensued coupled with Western condemnation.

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