KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan’s army chief said Tuesday the dialogue that will be launched Wednesday is a historic opportunity to end the transition period. 

In his statement aired on state television, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan noted that they have sworn to work with all segments of Sudan since April 2019 to realize the dream of the Sudanese people to establish a state of freedom, peace and justice.

Saying he supports the process called for by the tripartite mechanism, al-Burhan added that the Sudanese Sovereign Council, which he chairs, will continue to provide the necessary facilities to create an environment for dialogue.

The tripartite mechanism consists of the African Union, the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Calling on all parties in the country to participate in this process and not to stand in the way of the democratic transition, he went on to say that they will stick to the results of the dialogue and when there is a consensus or an election, the military will withdraw from the political scene.

Sudan has been in turmoil since last October, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government, a move decried by political forces as a "military coup."