Sudan’s ruling military council and a coalition of
opposition and protest groups reached an agreement to share power during a
transition period leading to elections, setting off street celebrations by
thousands of people.
The two sides, which have held talks in Khartoum for the
past two days, agreed to “establish a sovereign council by rotation between the
military and civilians for a period of three years or slightly more,” African
Union mediator Mohamed Hassan Lebatt said at a news conference.
They also agreed to form an independent technocratic
government and to launch a transparent, independent investigation into violent
events in recent weeks.
The two sides agreed to postpone the establishment of a
legislative council. They had previously agreed that the Forces for Freedom and
Change (FFC) coalition would take two-thirds of a legislative council’s seats before
security forces crushed a sit-in protest on June 3, killing dozens, and talks
collapsed
The streets of Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city across the
Nile River, erupted in celebration when the news broke, a Reuters witness said.
Thousands of people of all ages took to the streets, chanting “Civilian!
Civilian! Civilian!”
Young men banged drums, people honked their car horns, and
women carrying Sudanese flags ululated in jubilation.
“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 FFC.
“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,” said General
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the Transitional Military Council.
“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
accused by the FFC of crushing the sit-in.
Opposition medics say more than 100 people were killed in
the dispersal and subsequent violence. The government put the death toll at 62.
