Sudan security forces arrest rebel leaders who met Ethiopian PM

Sudanese security forces have arrested two opposition leaders shortly after they met with Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during reconciliation talks in Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

Abiy, who has emerged as a key regional leader, met representatives of both sides on Friday in a bid to revive talks between Sudan's ruling generals and protest leaders after the military launched a brutal crackdown on protesters that killed dozens of people this week.

Abiy had urged Sudan’s military rulers and civilian opposition to exercise “bravery” in trying to agree steps towards democracy after the worst bloodshed since the overthrow in April of President Omar al-Bashir.

Among the protest movement delegates Abiy met were opposition politician Mohamed Esmat and a leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Ismail Jalab.

Esmat was arrested on Friday soon after his meeting with Abiy, while Jalab was arrested at his residence early on Saturday, their aides told agencies.

Esmat and Jalab are both leading members of the Freedom and Change alliance, which brings together opposition parties and groups with the organisers of the mass protests that have gripped the East African country since December last year.

Following Abiy's arrival in Khartoum on Friday, the alliance of Sudanese opposition groups and protesters said it accepted Ethiopia as a mediator in their political deadlock with the Transitional Military Council (TMC), under certain conditions.

Among opposition demands are that the TMC take responsibility for the deadly dispersal of a protest sit-in on Monday, an international investigation into the incident is launched and political prisoners are released.

Abiy's trip came after the African Union (AU) suspended Sudan's membership on Thursday following the deaths of at least 108 people since Monday's deadly sit-in attack. More than 500 people were wounded in the raids, according to the opposition-linked Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors.