Sudan Protesters, Military Council Resume Talks

Sudanese protest organizers and the ruling military council resumed on Monday efforts to find common ground on forming a transitional government. Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, a spokesman for the military council, said the meeting — the first in over a week — is being held “in a more optimistic atmosphere.”

The protesters are represented by the Alliance for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, a coalition of protest organizers and opposition and rebel groups.

The army overthrew longtime president Omar al-Bashir from power in April after months of anti-government popular protests and set up a transitional military council.

The protesters and council are divided over what role the military, dominated by Bashir appointees, should play in the transitional period. The protesters demand a full transfer of power to a civilian government during this time.

The military seeks a two-year transitional period during which army generals would retain most of the power.

Late last month, the Alliance handed the generals its proposals for a civilian-led transition. But the generals have expressed “many reservations” over the coalition’s roadmap.