Egypt hosted African leaders for emergency talks on Tuesday on the upheavals in Sudan and Libya, as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned against "a slide into chaos". Sisi called for a coherent regional response, as protesters in Khartoum keep up demands for a civilian government and Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces bear down on Tripoli.
The leaders in Cairo urged Sudan's military rulers, who took power after toppling longtime president Omar al-Bashir, to implement "peaceful, organised and democratic transition measures" within three months, the Egyptian presidency said. But they also agreed on "the need for more time" for a transition, urging the African Union to extend its end of April deadline for the ruling military council to hand power to civilians or face suspension from the bloc.
An extension would ease international pressure on the council to yield power. Sudan's army toppled Bashir on April 11, but protesters have continued to hold mass rallies and world powers have backed their calls for a swift transition to a non-military government - demands the council has so far resisted.
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