Sudan looks forward to a regime change, army and protesters shake hands

Sudanese army rulers and protest leaders Wednesday agreed on a three-year transition period for transferring power to a full civilian administration even as negotiations over a new sovereign ruling body remain unfinished.

Sudanese army rulers and protest leaders Wednesday agreed on a three-year transition period for transferring power to a full civilian administration even as negotiations over a new sovereign ruling body remain unfinished. The protest movement is demanding a civilian-led transition following 30 years of iron-fisted rule by now deposed president Omar al-Bashir, but the generals who toppled him have been holding onto a leadership role.

The two sides announced early Wednesday that they had reached an agreement on the transition period. “We agreed on a transitional period of three years,” Lieutenant General Yasser al-Atta, a member of the military council told reporters. Atta said a final agreement on the sharing of power, including the forming of the next ruling body — the sovereign council — will be signed with the protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, within a day. “We vow to our people that the agreement will be completed fully within 24 hours in a way that it meets the people’s aspirations,” Atta said. He said of the three-year transition period, the first six months will be allocated to signing peace accords with rebels in the country’s war zones like Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.