Al-Mahdi calls for convening national conference to end political crisis

One of the main opposition leaders in Sudan, al-Sadeq al-Mahdi, has warned against the eruption of the civil war in Sudan and called for convening a national conference to end the country's political crisis.

AFP quoted the leader of the opposition Ummah Party as saying in an interview with the Qatari satellite station on Monday night as saying that there is a crisis prevailing the conditions in Sudan. "It is a civil war," he said, adding that what is needed from all the Sudanese is to maintain solidarity and head toward a comprehensive solution that halts the civil war and establishes constitutional democracy in the country.

On Sunday, the Sudanese president announced a three-month state of emergency in the country and dissolved the parliament with the objective of alienating his rival and former ally, Hassan Turabi, from power.

Turabi's party called upon its activists to resist the measures taken by President al-Bashir.

Turabi and al-Bashir rallied in 1989 to topple the government of al-Sadeq al-Mahdi, which was elected democratically.