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The African Union announced Thursday that it has suspended Sudan until the formation of a civilian government, intensifying international pressure on the country's new military leaders to resign.
Ethiopia will launch a mediation effort on Friday, diplomatic sources said in Khartoum.
The move came after security forces on Monday cleared protesters from a sit-in camp in central Khartoum, killing dozens of people in the worst violence since President Omar al-Bashir was sacked by the army in April after four months of peaceful protests.
The opposition had been holding talks with an interim military council over a civilian-led transition to democracy, but negotiations failed and this week's crackdown marked a turning point in the power struggle.
The United Nations and several foreign governments have condemned the bloodshed.
The Peace and Security Council of the African Union, meeting in Addis Ababa on Thursday, decided to suspend Sudan from all AU activities until the formation of a civilian government. Suspension is the normal response of the African Union to any break in the constitutional rule of one of its members.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was due to go to Khartoum on Friday to try to mediate between the army and an opposition alliance, a diplomatic source told the Ethiopian embbady. in Khartoum.
The source told Reuters that Abiy would meet members of the Transitional Military Council and the Declaration of Freedom of the Opposition and Forces of Change during his one – day visit.
Ethiopia is home to the headquarters of the African Union, but it was unclear whether Abiy would act under the auspices of the AU.
NIGHT CONFLICT
The Sudanese Ministry of Health said on Thursday that 61 people were killed in the crackdown, but that the opposition killed 108 people.
The action was led by the paramilitary force of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), witnesses said. Troops who fired on unarmed protesters then organized a wider crackdown on the following days, they said.
The RSF, commanded by the deputy head of the military council, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, was created from militia fighting insurgents in the Darfur region of western Sudan, during a civil war unleashed in September. 2003.
The militias are accused of involvement in widespread atrocities in Darfur and Bashir was indicted in 2009 and 2010 by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and genocide – charges he denies. He is now detained in Khartoum.
Amnesty International called for international action against the military leaders and condemned the RPF for its role in the violence.
"RSF, the special military force that has killed, raped and tortured thousands of people in Darfur, is taking its toll on the capital," Amnesty said. "The reports that bodies were thrown into the river demonstrate the total depravation of these so-called security forces."
The military council denied that the force was involved in illegal actions and claimed to be facing a negative media campaign led by "hostile parties". The raid targeted criminals in an area adjacent to the camp, the newspaper added.
Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, said the military council had opened an investigation into the violence and would punish anyone convicted of violations.
CYCLE OF IMPUNITY
The RSF deployment suggests that Dagalo, a terrifying Darfur veteran, is taking charge, at least in terms of security. Near Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, he hired Sudanese troops into the military coalition they led during the civil war in Yemen.
Amnesty said that Sudan's recent history was characterized by impunity for war crimes and other human rights violations.
"We urge the African Union Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council to end this cycle of impunity and take immediate steps to hold perpetrators of this violence to responsible for their actions, "said the London-based human rights group.
At the same time, the movement began to return to the Sudanese capital Thursday after difficult days. After the raid on the camp, protesters blocked the roads with burning stones and bonfires.
Security forces led by RSF units are trying to open roadblocks. According to witnesses, traffic on Khartoum's main roads was again fluid, but many shops remained closed.
The unrest has rocked Sudan since December, when anger over rising bread prices and lack of liquidity sparked protests against Bashir, which resulted in his dismissal from the army, ending his three decades in power in which the country has become a pariah state in the eyes of the West.
In the aftermath of Monday's events, the military council canceled all agreements reached with the opposition on a democratic transition and announced the holding of elections within nine months. The demonstrators rejected the plan.
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