Sudan military council chief arrives in Cairo amid unrest at home

The head of Sudan's ruling military council arrived in Cairo on Saturday, an airport official said, the general's first foreign trip since taking power after the April ouster of president Omar al-Bashir.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's visit to Egypt comes after Sudanese protest leaders announced a two-day strike from Tuesday as talks with the military over installing civilian rule remain suspended.

The umbrella protest movement is at odds with the generals over whether the transitional body to rule Sudan should be headed by a military or civilian figure.

Egypt, whose President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi currently chairs the African Union, backs Sudan's military council and has urged African nations to allow it "more time" for a handover to civilian rule.

Al-Burhan's arrival came a day after the country’s protest leaders called for a two-day general strike against the military government, following continued political deadlock in the country. 

"There is no longer any alternative to using the weapon of a general strike," the Alliance for Freedom and Change umbrella group said in a statement Friday.

The movement said the strike - affecting "public and private institutions and companies" - would be accompanied by civil disobedience and was "an act of peaceful resistance with which we have been forced to proceed".

The strike is expected to take place within the coming days.

Sudan's military seized power in a coup in April, overthrowing former president Omar al-Bashir, after months of popular protests against his rule.

Protesters continue to hold a mass sit-in outside the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum and demonstrations across the country, calling on the military to transfer power to a civilian body immediately.

Protesters are wary of martial rule and have explicitly rejected foreign interference, specifically from the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The transitional military council initially said its rule will last for two years, after which the country will hold elections for the formation of a civilian government, although leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has said that it may be possible to transfer power to a civilian body sooner if the council is presented with an adequate plan.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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