France, Dec. 5 -- The United States and allies Monday welcomed the signing of an initial deal between Sudan's military and civilian leaders to end a political crisis sparked last year by a coup.

Monday's agreement comes just over a year after Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in October 2021, derailing a rocky transition to civilian rule that had started with the 2019 overthrow of autocratic leaderOmar al-Bashir.

Over thepast year, Sudanhas seen near-weekly protests and a crackdown that pro-democracy medics say has killed at least 121 people, a spiralling economic crisis and a rise in ethnic violence in several remote regions.

Meanwhile, divisions among civilian groups have deepened since the coup, with some urging a deal ...