Sudanese protest leaders accuse military rulers of delaying power transition

Sudanese protest leaders Wednesday accused the military rulers of delaying the transfer of power to a civilian administration, amid disagreements between the two sides over the country's new governance structure. "The military council's response... is moving in the direction of extending the negotiation and not in the direction of transition" of power, the Alliance for Freedom and Change said in a statement.

The protest movement said the military council is looking to "prolong the negotiations" after the generals took over following the ousting of veteran leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11. The 10-member military council has said they agreed overall to proposals submitted by protest leaders, but have "many reservations".

The two sides are grappling over whether an overall ruling council should have a civilian or military majority. The Alliance for Freedom and Change has also remained silent on the military council's aim for Islamic law to remain the bedrock of Sudanese legislation. It said the generals had "irrelevant issues including the language and sources of legislation in a tedious repetition of the biddings of the former regime". "We call on the military council to reach an agreement to transfer power," the protest leaders said.

(With inputs from agencies.)