Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is seen during the opening session of the AU summit in Johannesburg, Sunday, June 14, 2015.

Sudanese security agents arrested three opposition figures in Khartoum on Wednesday, their party said, despite efforts by the government to persuade opponents to join national dialogue talks.

“The armed force of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested three members of the Sudanese Congress Party,” the party said in a statement.

The group had been detained in the Mayo suburb of Khartoum by police on Tuesday for delivering speeches criticizing the government in public, the statement said.

NISS officers arrived at the station in Mayo the day after and took them to an unknown location, the Sudanese Congress said.

Several other party members and politicians have been detained by NISS in recent months for giving similar speeches.

The latest arrests come as Khartoum has redoubled its efforts to persuade opposition parties to join talks aimed at resolving the country’s multiple crises.

The talks started on October 10 and were announced last January by President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court over crimes related to the conflict in the western Darfur region that erupted in 2003.

But most opposition and rebel groups have shunned the dialogue talks, demanding a meeting outside Sudan to agree the terms of the meeting.

Related articles across the web

• Al-Bashir: Government appeal denied
• South African government mulling over ICC request over al-Bashir saga
• Salc in the News: the State of Play in the Al-bashir Saga
• Bashir abandons plan to attend UN general assembly
• Government denied leave to appeal Bashir court order
• S. Africa studying court ruling on Bashir -Foreign Minister
• South Africa prosecutors awaiting outcome of Bashir's appeal before investigating breach of court orders
• South African government loses appeal over not arresting Sudan president
• Bashir drops plan to attend UN general assembly