Photo taken on Nov. 1, 2021 shows road blocked with makeshift brick barricades by demonstrators in Khartoum, Sudan. On Oct. 25, the Sudanese Army took measures ending the partnership between the military and civilian coalition ruling during the transitional period in Sudan. Meanwhile, General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency across the country and dissolved the sovereign council and government. (Photo: Xinhua)

Sudan's main civilian political coalition rejected any negotiation with the military on Wednesday, holding to its position at its first press conference since a coup on October 25 led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

A statement read at the press conference attributed to spokesperson Alwathiq Elbereir said the Forces of Freedom and Change, which had signed a 2019 power-sharing agreement with the military following the ouster of Omar al-Bashir, rejected the coup and had not met with the military.

The coalition said it supported Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who is under house arrest, but had not met with him, and joined him in demanding a return to pre-coup conditions.

"We did not break the partnership ... and we must return to the constitutional document," said another FFC spokesperson, adding that the coup happened after civilians brought certain contentious issues to the table.

"The coup does not represent the military institution," the spokesperson added, saying the coalition would not accept the return of Burhan in the head of state position he held before the coup.

Several civilian politicians and officials were arrested following the coup, and Elbereir said they were facing pressures that were endangering their lives.

Mediation attempts since the takeover have stalled, and while lower-level appointments have been made, neither a cabinet or head of state Sovereign council have been named.

Burhan has said he is committed to the democratic transition and elections in July 2023.

Burhan is under international pressure to reverse his actions. Resistance committees have called for "marches of millions" on November 13 and 17 which the FFC said it supported. The committees are organizing under the slogan: No negotiations, no partnership, no legitimacy.

Reuters