CAIRO — Less than 24 hours after the coup by Sudanese army chief Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Oct. 25 against the civilian element of the transitional period, the African Union (AU) suspended Sudan's membership and participation in all of its activities.

This comes as the AU seeks a compromise formula between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to resume negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). These African efforts follow the presidential statement on the GERD adopted by the UN Security Council calling for a resumption of the AU-led negotiations.

Negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are still suspended since Ethiopia completed the second filling of the GERD lake. The Egyptian and Sudanese international diplomatic escalation against Ethiopia is so far restricted to recommendations to return to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, all mediation attempts to bridge the views of the three countries or start a new round of talks to reach a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD have faltered. 

Prior to the dissolution of the civilian government in Sudan, Christophe Lutundula, foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo — which currently holds the presidency of the AU for a one-year term — visited Sudan on Sept. 15 to discuss the possibilities of resuming negotiations.