Sudan protest leaders, army rulers agree on joint civilian-military council

Sudan's protest leaders and army rulers agreed Saturday to establish a joint civilian-military ruling council, a major breakthrough in talks between the two sides over demonstrators' demands for a handover to civilian rule.

The agreement on the highly disputed issue came as thousands of protesters remain encamped outside the military headquarters since the army ousted longtime leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11, demanding that the army rulers step down.

"We agreed on a joint council between the civilian and the military," one of the leaders of the protest campaign, Ahmed al-Rabia, who was involved in the talks, told AFP.

"We are now in consultation about what percentage of the council should be represented by civilians and how much by the military."
"We are still waiting for the final composition of the joint council."
"We won't leave until we have civil rule and laws guaranteeing freedom of expression."