CAIRO: The United Arab Emirates called all parties in Sudan on Saturday to exercise restraint, de-escalate and work towards ending the crisis through dialogue, the state news agency reported.

The agency said that the UAE Embassy in Khartoum was following “with great concern the developments in Sudan and has reaffirmed the UAE’s position on the importance of de-escalation, and working towards finding a peaceful solution to the crisis between the concerned parties”.

Sudan’s main paramilitary group said it had seized the presidential palace, the army chief’s residence and Khartoum international airport on Saturday in an apparent coup attempt but the military said it was fighting back.