“The two sides agree to establish ‘a sovereign council’ to be run on rotation” – AU mediator
BY AL-JAZEERA
Sudan’s ruling military council and the opposition coalition have reached an agreement to share power, in a step that would make way for the formation of a transitional governing body.
The two sides agreed to “establish a sovereign council by rotation between the military and civilians for a period of three years or slightly more,” Mohamed Hassan Lebatt, an African Union (AU) mediator, said at a news conference on Friday.
The landmark agreement came after two days of talks following the collapse of the previous round of negotiations in the wake of a brutal military crackdown on June 3 that left dozens dead.
Ethiopia and AU had stepped up mediation efforts to end the political crisis in the African nation which has been wracked by protests since December.
The ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the opposition coalition have been wrangling for weeks over what form Sudan’s transitional government should take after the military deposed long-time President Omar al-Bashir on April 11.
“This agreement opens the way for the formation of the institutions of the transitional authority, and we hope that this is the beginning of a new era,” said Omar al-Degair, a leader of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) – an umbrella organisation of opposition groups.
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the TMC, said that the agreement will be “comprehensive and will not exclude anyone”.
“We would like to reassure all political forces, armed movements and all those who participated in the change from young men and women … that this agreement will be comprehensive and will not exclude anyone,” Dagalo said.
“We thank the African and Ethiopian mediators for their efforts and patience. We also thank our brothers in the Forces for Freedom and Change for the good spirit,” said Dagalo, who heads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused by the FFC of crushing a June 3 sit-in.
Big news in Sudan as a deal between the military and protestors has been agreed. Siddig Yousif, one of the main negotiators, explains how this will work. https://t.co/N8zArCR2Ll pic.twitter.com/kKPhVnfsOp
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) July 5, 2019
#Sudan: UN Human Rights Chief @mbachelet calls on the Sudanese authorities to lift restrictions on the internet and launch proper independent investigations into all acts of violence & allegations of excessive use of force, incl. attacks on hospitals. 👉 https://t.co/SSoA6srZ0c pic.twitter.com/JPNtLmLnEZ
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) July 3, 2019
