Sudanese opposition suspends civil disobedience

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - The opposition-led Freedom and Change coalition Tuesday suspended the nationwide civil disobedience after three days of general strike.

In a statement, the coalition said that the strike would be lifted indefinitely in order to hold more consultations and arrangements with its forces, including different associations allied with itself.

"After wide consultations with the association leaders of different sectors that engaged in the strike, including the banks, hospitals, aviation, and other services sectors, we made sure that the general strike succeeded to achieve its goals and sent a strong message to the military council," the coalition said.

"We, however, decided to suspend the general strike for a while for more consultations and arrangements among our forces and allies," it stressed.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Dirir, an Ethiopian envoy in Sudan, said that the ruling Transitional Military Council and the Sudanese opposition agreed to resume the talks.

On Sunday, Sudanese protesters began a nationwide civil disobedience campaign after the Freedom and Change coalition called for a general strike to protest the killing of the protesters and to pressure the TMC to hand the power to the civilian authority.

At least 118 have been killed in the past few days as the government forces waged wide campaign against the activists, breaking up the sit-in of thousands of protesters and arresting dozens of association leaders.