On Sunday Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan lifted a state of emergency imposed since last year’s military coup, the ruling sovereign council said.
The council said in a statement that Burhan “issued a decree lifting the state emergency nationwide”.
It added the order was made “to prepare the atmosphere for a fruitful and meaningful dialogue that achieves stability for the transitional period”.
According to reports, Sunday’s decision came after a meeting with senior military officials to approve the state of emergency be lifted and people detained under emergency law to be freed.
It also came after the latest calls by UN special representative Volker Perthes for removing the state of emergency, following the killing of two protesters during anti-coup protests on Saturday.
Sudan has been rocked by mass protests since the coup, which has been met by a violent suppression that has left nearly 100 people dead and hundreds wounded, according to pro-democracy medics.
Hundreds of activists have also been rounded up in the clampdown under emergency laws.
Military officials also recommended allowing the live TV unit of the Qatar-based network Al Jazeera to resume operations in Sudan on Sunday after authorities banned it in January for “unprofessional” coverage of protests.
Sudan has been reeling from deepening unrest since Burhan led the October 25 coup, upending a fragile transition following the 2019 ouster of President Omar al-Bashir.
The military takeover triggered widespread international condemnation and punitive measures, including crucial aid cuts by Western governments pending the resumption of the transition to civilian rule.
It was gathered that Sudan is one of the world’s poorest countries, and is also struggling from a plunging economy due to decades of international isolation and mismanagement under Bashir.
The United Nations, along with the Africa Union and regional bloc IGAD, has been pushing to facilitate Sudanese-led talks to resolve the crisis.
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