KHARTOUM, May 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudanese demonstrators are expected to stage a “million-strong” march to press for a civilian administration after talks with military rulers hit a snag.
The two sides have agreed on forming a joint civilian-military council to run Sudan but are at odds over its composition.
Protest leaders from the Alliance for Freedom and Change say the army is not serious about handing power to civilians, three weeks after it toppled autocratic president Omar al-Bashir.
The army, which took over after Bashir’s ouster on April 11, has been pushing for a 10-member council including seven military representatives and three civilians.
The alliance is demanding a council made up of eight civilians and seven generals.
The disagreement prompted the alliance to announce a “million-strong march to assert our main demand, which is for civilian rule”.
The call has exacerbated tensions between the two sides.
The military council has warned it will not allow “chaos” and urged protesters to dismantle makeshift barricades they have set up around the main protest site outside army headquarters.
It also demanded protesters open roads and bridges blocked by demonstrators who have camped outside the headquarters for weeks, even after Bashir’s ouster.
Adding to the deepening discord, the military council said six security personnel were killed in clashes with protesters across the country on Monday.
“The military council is not serious about handing over power to civilians,” said Mohamed Naji al-Assam, a leader of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) spearheading the protests.
“The military council insists that the (joint) council should be military led with civilian representation,” Assam said, adding the army had been seeking to “expand its powers daily”.
The military council’s deputy head Mohammad Hamdan Dagolo has said it is “committed to negotiations but (will allow) no chaos”.
The spokesman of the military council, Lieutenant General Shamseddin al-Kabbashi, said the “armed forces must remain in the sovereign council” because of tensions facing the country.
The African Union on Tuesday gave Sudan’s military rulers another 60 days to hand over power to a civilian authority or face suspension, after an earlier deadline was missed. — NNN-AGENCIES
