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Sudan's military council and an alliance of opposition groups initialed a political accord on Wednesday as part of a power-sharing deal aimed at leading the African nation to democracy, live television showed.
The two sides initialed a document called the "Political Declaration" in Khartoum in the presence of African mediators following a night of marathon talks to iron out some details of the agreement reached on July 5.
The deal is meant to pave the way to a political transition in Sudan after military leaders ousted former President Omar al-Bashir in April following weeks of protests against him.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy chief of the ruling military council who initialed the deal on behalf of the generals, said the agreement was a "historic moment" for Sudan.
"We want a stable homeland, because we have suffered a great deal," Ibrahim al-Amin, a leader in the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change coalition, said after the ceremony.
Sudanese people chant slogans as they celebrate, after Sudan's ruling military council and a coalition of opposition and protest groups reached an agreement to share power during a transition period leading to elections, along the streets of Khartoum, Sudan, July 5, 2019. /VCG Photo
Ethiopian mediator Mahmud Dirir said Sudan needed to overcome poverty and called for the country to be taken off a U.S. list of states that support terrorism.
The accord stipulates that a new transitional civilian-military ruling body be established, in a bid to end the country's months-long political crisis.
This governing body will be comprised of six civilians and five military representatives.
The six civilians will include five from the umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change.
A general will head the ruling body during the first 21 months of the transition, followed by a civilian for the remaining 18 months, according to the framework agreement.
A supporter of Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the military council and head of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, holds his portrait as he rides his camel before a meeting in Aprag village, 60 kilometers away from Khartoum, Sudan, June 22, 2019. /VCG Photo
That body is to oversee the formation of a transitional civilian administration that will govern for just over three years, after which elections would be held.
The breakthrough accord came after a political deadlock that gripped Sudan since the generals ousted Bashir in a palace coup in April, on the back of months of nationwide mass protests against his iron-fisted three-decade rule.
Tensions climaxed on June 3 when armed men in military fatigues stormed a longstanding protest camp in Khartoum, shooting and beating crowds of demonstrators in a pre-dawn raid.
Dozens were killed and hundreds wounded, triggering international outrage, although the generals insisted they did not order the violent dispersal of protesters.
Talks to fine tune the details of the deal since July 5 had been postponed several times at the request of protest leaders.
(With input from AFP and Reuters)