Sudanese Oppn, army rulers discuss powers of joint military-civilian council

Sudanese military rulers and an opposition alliance met on Monday to discuss the powers of a joint military-civilian council to steer the country's transition after three decades of rule by Omar al-Bashir, two sources familiar with the proceedings said.

The decision to have a joint council came after hours of talks on Saturday, the first by a joint committee representing the current ruling military leadership and protesters. Taking the first step towards breaking the prevailing deadlock, Sudan's ruling Military Transitional Council (MTC) and the Declaration of Freedom and Changes Forces agreed on Sunday in principle to create a joint council to run the country until the next elections.

Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir was ousted and arrested in a military coup last month. This came as the African country faced months of continuous protests against the ousted leader's decades-long rule which was marred by rampant corruption. The protests snowballed after initially being triggered by the rising prices of daily commodities like bread. After overthrowing Bashir, the military council promised to hold elections after overseeing a two-year transitional period - a move which has been slammed by protesters who are holding sit-ins against the military rule.

The military council has so far insisted that it has assumed power for a two-year transitional period. Western governments have expressed support for protesters' demands, but Sudan's key Gulf Arab lenders have backed the military council, while African states have called for more time for the army to hand over to civilians. Last week, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced USD 3 billion (2.7 billion euros) in financial aid for Sudan following Bashir's overthrow.