Nine months after the coup, the Sudanese military ruler al-Burhan has promised a transition to democracy. But maybe he just wants to split the opposition with his statements.

At first glance it looks like a stage victory for those forces demanding an end to military rule in Sudan. Abd al-Fattah al-Burhan, the army commander and de facto head of state, surprisingly announced on state television that the military would withdraw from a political dialogue so that civilian groups would end their boycott of the format. He called on the opposition groups to start an "immediate and serious dialogue" so that the transition to democracy in Sudan can begin.