Sudan military, opposition reach power sharing accord

KHARTOUM - Sudan's Transitional Military Council and protest leaders reached an agreement on the disputed issue of a new governing body on Friday, in a breakthrough power sharing accord aimed at ending the country's monthslong political crisis.

The landmark agreement came after two days of talks following the collapse of the previous round of negotiations in May over who should lead the new ruling body - a civilian or a soldier.

"The two sides agreed on establishing a sovereign council with a rotating military and civilian (presidency) for a period of three years or little more," African Union mediator Mohamed el-Hacen Lebatt told reporters.

Sudan has been rocked by a political crisis since the army ousted longtime president Omar al-Bashir, with the generals who seized power resisting demonstrators' demands to hand it over to a civilian administration.

"We want to reassure all political forces and armed movements and all those who took part in the change ... that this agreement is all inclusive and does not exclude anyone," deputy chairman of the ruling military council, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said in a statement.

For his part, Omer Al-Digair, a leading member of the opposition Freedom and Change Alliance, said this agreement paved the way for the formation of a transitional government which would work for political, economic and social reforms in the African country.

Tension between the two sides had further soared after a raid on a protest camp outside army headquarters in the capital Khartoum that killed dozens of demonstrators and wounded hundreds on June 3.

Lebatt did not specify the exact makeup of the new ruling body, but prominent protest leader Ahmed al-Rabie said that it would comprise of six civilians, including five from the protest movement, and five members of the military.

The latest round of talks had resumed on Wednesday after intense mediation by Ethiopian and African Union envoys, who had put forward a draft proposal to break the deadlock.

The blueprint proposes a three-year transition period, with the presidency of the new ruling body to be held by the military for the first 18 months and a civilian for the second.

However, it was still unclear if both sides had signed off on the military holding the post first.

AFP - Xinhua

(China Daily 07/06/2019 page7)