KHARTOUM - Sudan's military council and the
main opposition coalition have reached an agreement to usher in
a new period of transitional government, the African Union
mediator for Sudan said on Saturday.
The document, which outlines the powers and the
relationships between the branches of the transitional
government, comes after weeks of protracted negotiations
brokered by the African Union and neighbouring Ethiopia amid
sporadic bouts of violence in the capital Khartoum and other
cities.
Sudan has been in a state of political turmoil since the
army ousted veteran leader Omar al-Bashir in April, with dozens
of demonstrators killed during street protests.
As news of the agreement emerged, people began gathering on
Nile Street, a main avenue in Khartoum, honking car horns and
ululating in celebration.
"We're victorious!" some people chanted while others sang
the national anthem.
The main opposition coalition, the Forces of Freedom and
Change (FFC), welcomed the agreement as a "first step with more
to follow" and pledged to complete the journey to "freedom,
peace and justice" in Sudan.
AU mediator Mohamed Hassan Lebatt told a news conference
in the early hours that representatives from both sides -
civilian pro-democracy groups and the military - will continue
talks on Saturday over the technical details of the accord.
Legal and technical teams still need to establish a timeline
for the declaration to come into effect and for the transitional
government to be appointed.
Once the transitional government starts work, Sudan embarks
on a three-year transition period expected lead to elections.
Sudan's stability is crucial for the security of a volatile
region stretching from the Horn of Africa to Libya that is riven
by conflict and power struggles.
Two key points of contention had been the role of Sudan's
General Intelligence Service and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF),
the country's most powerful paramilitary group.
According to a draft of the declaration seen by Reuters, the
intelligence service will report to the cabinet and the
sovereign council, the body that will rule the country in the
transitional period, while the RSF will fall under the general
command of the armed forces.
Nine members of the RSF have been dismissed and detained in
connection with the killing of protesters, including four
schoolchildren, this week.
The sides had previously agreed that the sovereign council
will be comprised of 11 members — five officers selected by the
military council, five civilians chosen by the Forces for
Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition and another civilian to be
agreed upon by both sides. Its first leader will be from the
military.
When the sovereign council is formed, the current ruling
body, a transitional military council headed by General Abdel
Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, RSF commander General Mohamed
Hamdan Dagalo, will be dissolved.
A priority for the transitional government during its first
six months in power will be working towards peace with a number
of armed groups active in the southern and western regions of
the country, Satea al-Hajj, an FFC negotiator, said on Saturday.
Three of those armed groups are members of the FFC under the
umbrella of the Revolutionary Front.