Sudan talks to resume Tuesday over remaining issues, says mediator

Talks are to resume on Tuesday between Sudanese protesters and the ruling generals on the remaining issues related to installing a transitional civilian administration, a mediator and a protest leader said.

African Union mediator Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt said in a statement on Sunday that the two sides had been invited for “final talks on the Constitutional Declaration.”

Prominent protest leader Babiker Faisal also confirmed Tuesday’s talks in Khartoum between the two sides, who on July 17 signed an initial power-sharing deal following the April ouster of longtime president Omar al-Bashir.

The second agreement will deal with issues including the powers given to a joint civilian-military ruling body, the deployment of security forces and whether to grant “absolute immunity” to generals over protest-related violence, Faisal said.

“I expect that we will reach an agreement on the Constitutional Declaration on Tuesday because the pending differences are not big,” Faisal told AFP.

Lebatt said a technical committee representing the two sides would meet on Monday for preliminary talks.

The July 17 “Political Declaration” provides for the establishment of a new joint civilian-military transitional ruling body that would install an overall civilian administration.

That governing body will include six civilians and five generals.

It will then oversee the formation of a transitional civilian government and parliament to govern for 39 months, after which elections will be held.