In Sudan, envoys from the United States and Saudi Arabia have broken the deadlock in discussions.

Sudan's former ruling civilian coalition has started preliminary discussions with the military, which are being mediated by the US and Saudi Arabia.

The dialogue aims to break the long-standing political impasse that has existed since the military takeover in October.

The Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition is one of many pro-democracy organizations boycotting the face-to-face negotiations with military commanders, which began on June 8.

Representatives of the military and the FFC's central committee met on Thursday, according to the US embassy in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, "to share perspectives on how to resolve the current political situation, as well as on a process that leads to a democratic transition."

The embassy praised the parties' resolve to prioritize the nation's interests and engage other stakeholders.

The conference, it claimed, was not intended to replace the conversation that the African Union, the United Nations, and the East African regional body, Igad, have been promoting to restore democratic governance.

The FCC coalition had been sharing power with the military since 2019, but the power-sharing arrangement was ended last October by a coup.