Talks to end Sudan crisis begin as anti-coup groups boycott

By SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations says talks aimed at ending Sudan’s ongoing political deadlock have started although the country’s main pro-democracy alliance is boycotting them over a continued police crackdown on those protesting last October’s military coup. The joint peace effort is brokered by the U.N. political mission in Sudan, the African Union, and the eight-nation east African regional group Intergovernmental Authority in Development. The talks started on Wednesday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, aiming to bring the generals and an array of political and protest groups to the negotiating table. The military’s takeover has upended Sudan’s short-lived fragile democratic transition and plunged the East African nation into turmoil.