Sudan mediators propose 2 councils to end stalemate

Sudanese mediators facilitating talks between the army rulers and protest leaders have proposed the country have two transition councils, with one led by generals overseeing security, a protest leader said Sunday. The mediators' proposal comes as talks over forming an overall governing council remain deadlocked, with the existing military council and protest leaders offering differing visions, after president Omar al-Bashir was deposed last month.

"There is a proposal [from the mediators] to have two councils, one led by civilians and the other by military," said Omar al-Digeir, a senior opposition leader and member of the umbrella protest group the Alliance for Freedom and Change. "The [new] military council [which will also include civilian representatives] will be looking at issues concerning the security aspects of the country," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Protesters have massed outside the army complex in central Khartoum since April 6, initially to demand the overthrow of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir. But since his ouster by the army on April 11, the protesters have kept up their sit-in. Since al-Bashir's ouster, the protesters have expressed fears the military will cling to power and undermine all attempts to instate a civilian government in a country that lived for decades under military dictatorship. Protests first broke out on Dec. 19 in response to the tripling of bread prices, swiftly turning into nationwide rallies against al-Bashir's three-decade rule.