Sudan's Military, Opposition Reach Agreement On Ruling Council

The Sudanese military council and the country's opposition alliance have reached an agreement to form a new governmental body to run the country until the next election.

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According to Al-Jazeera, the military council and opposition alliance reached the agreement during a meeting between the ruling Military Transitional Council (MTC) and the Declaration of Freedom and Changes Forces, an umbrella organisation of opposition groups.

"The talks started with high spirits and great transparency and we have reiterated our joint regard for the country," Shams Eldin Kabashi, the spokesperson for the military council, told Al Jazeera. "Talks will continue and we are optimistic on reaching a final result that we can announce to the Sudanese people as soon as possible".

This is a major step for the African nation after long-time leader, Omar Al-Bashir, agreed to step down from the presidency amid several months of protest against his regime. 

Bashir's fall led to the formation of a military council that vowed to lead a two-year-long transitional period, which was later rejected by the opposition alliance. 

The opposition groups are still holding mass protests around the country to demand the military council hand over power to the people. 

The African Union recently granted the Sudanese military council a three-month deadline to hand over power to a civilian administration; however, this was rejected by the opposition alliance.

The "Sudanese don't need the recommendation of African Union," Sadiq al-Mahdi, the head of the National Umma Party, said in a new ​​​​​​statement.

"We hope that the civilian authority in the transition period will organize national, economic and international conferences", he added.

Al-Mahdi stressed that the transitional period must follow free elections.