Sudan: TMC to hold elections in next nine months

A day after 35 people were killed in an attack by the army on peaceful protestors, Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) on Tuesday announced that it is scrapping all agreements with the opposition coalition and called for a fresh election in next nine months.

"The military council decides to stop negotiating with the Alliance for Freedom and Change [group represented protesters in negotiations] and cancel what had been agreed on and to hold general elections within nine months," Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said in a televised statement.

In an effort to disperse demonstrators sitting outside the military camp in the capital of Khartoum, Sudan Army opened fire and killed 35 people, reported Al Jazeera.

Last month, after the series of talks, Sudan's military has reached a power-sharing agreement with the opposition alliance for a three-year transition period before a civilian government is elected.

The army generals had initially insisted on a two-year transition period, while the protest leaders wanted four.

Thousands of protesters have been holding a sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, for weeks, demanding the stepping down of Sudan's military leaders who seized power in April by overthrowing longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.

Some of them also expressed caution over the prospects for an agreement that would satisfy their demands.