Sudanese mediators facilitating talks between the army rulers and protest leaders have proposed the country have two transition councils, with one led by generals overseeing security, a protest leader said Sunday.
The mediators' apparent proposal comes as talks over forming an overall governing council remain deadlocked, with the existing military council and protest leaders offering differing visions, after president Omar al-Bashir was deposed last month.
"There is a proposal [from the mediators] to have two councils, one led by civilians and the other by military," said Omar al-Digeir, a senior opposition leader and member of the umbrella protest group the Alliance for Freedom and Change.
"The [new] military council [which will also include civilian representatives] will be looking at issues concerning the security aspects of the country," he told AFP.
The "exact job description" of both the councils has yet to be decided, he said. "No final decision has been taken yet."
Thousands of protesters remain encamped outside the army headquarters in Khartoum, demanding the current 10-member army council that took power after the ouster of Bashir be replaced by a civilian administration.
The current army council has so far resisted handing over power to civilians.
It was still unclear whether both the sides would agree to the idea of having two councils, or if they would stick to the earlier proposal of one joint civilian-military ruling body.
A Sudanese protester died after being shot during clashes with security forces at a sit-in in the western Darfur region.
The Sudan Doctors Committee, one of the groups behind the nationwide protests, said Saad Mohammad Ahmad, 18, was shot Saturday when security forces tried to forcibly disperse a sit-in outside a military facility in Nyala. He died Sunday.
Maj. Gen. Hashim Mahmoud, the governor of south Darfur province, says around 5,000 people marched to the facility from a nearby displaced persons camp, and that security forces used tear gas to try and disperse them.
Agence France Presse
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