SUDAN

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the ruling Sovereign Council, announced Sunday that he was lifting the state of emergency in place since the military grabbed sole power last October. Regular mass protests have taken place throughout the country since the coup, bringing a crackdown that has left nearly 100 dead, including two young men killed by security forces Saturday. The demonstrators call for full restoration of constitutional government in civilian hands. Burhan promised to free protesters now in jail as a prelude to talks with political parties about getting a transition to civilian rule on track. Rolling back the state of emergency was long a demand of the military’s domestic and external critics, says Crisis Group expert Alan Boswell, but the generals have yet to show they are willing to step back from either repressive tactics or their dominant political role.