ADDIS ABABA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Thursday dispatched a team of experts to support the negotiations among Sudan's stakeholders so as to facilitate an agreement towards establishing a consensual and civilian-led transition.
The pan African bloc, in a statement issued on Thursday, also revealed that the AU mission, which was assigned by the AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat "has already begun its consultations."
"The African Union mission is mandated to support the negotiations among the Sudanese stakeholders and facilitate, as appropriate, an agreement that will make it possible to establish a consensual and civilian-led transition," an AU statement read.
The AU's mission to Sudan, which is led by the AU chairperson's principal strategic advisor, Mohamed Hacen Lebatt, also includes a number of experts from the 55-member pan African bloc.
Faki, who was in Sudan's capital Khartoum last month soon after the ouster of former president Omar al-Bashir to meet high-level officials of Sudan's transitional military council, also "called on all the Sudanese stakeholders to fully cooperate with the African Union Mission."
"Chairperson of the AU Commission renews his appeal to the international partners to fully support the work of the Mission," the statement read.
Faki further expressed his "hope that the ongoing efforts will soon lead to an agreement that is in line with the aspirations of the Sudanese people and which, as such, will help to lay solid foundations for the democratic transformation of the Sudan."
On Monday, Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the opposition Freedom and Change Alliance concluded the third round of talks without reaching consensus on the formation of a civilian government.
The deployment of the special mission to Sudan also came a day after AU's Peace and Security Council urged the Sudanese military to hand over power to a civilian-led authority within 60 days.
