POLITICS-Sudan military council, opposition reach power-sharing agreement -sources

Sudan's ruling transitional military council and a coalition of opposition and protest groups reached an agreement to share power during a transition period leading to elections, sources said on Friday. The two sides, which have held talks in Khartoum for the past two days, agreed to "establish a council of sovereignty by rotation between the military and civilians for a period of 3 years or slightly more," African Union mediator Mohamed Hassan 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. The two sides had previously agreed that the Forces for Freedom and Change 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.