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

BY SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Talks aiming at ending Sudan’s ongoing political deadlock began Wednesday, the United Nations said, 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, IGAD. The effort aims 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.