Sudan’s rival parties are getting ready to sit face to face for the first time since the October 2021 military coup that continues to fuel a sharp political division in the country.

Volker Perthes, UN Special Representative to Sudan and head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITMAS), revealed to the press on June 2 that the Sudanese army will hold direct talks with politicians and civilian activists this month to seek a solution to the current political crisis.

The negotiating committee, which will represent the military component, will be chaired by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, nicknamed Hemedti, who is the second man in the state and deputy head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council.

The news of the dialogue follows a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism leading the political process in Sudan, which includes UNITMAS, the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) with members of a quartet military committee formed by the Sudanese army and headed by Hemedti.