Sudan: Military council rejects Ethiopia's proposal for peace

Sudan's military has rejected a proposal made by Ethiopian mediators and already accepted by the opposition coalition for the creation of a civilian transition body, and instead expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), both of whom are accused of backing the junta’s crackdown against civilians.

The ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) rejected Ethiopia’s proposal on Sunday, saying Ethiopia and the African Union (AU) should be unified in their efforts to mediate between the council and an opposition coalition on the structure of the country's transitional government.

Back in April, Sudan’s military announced that it had unseated president Omar al-Bashir and later imprisoned him. It then set up the TMC to rule the country and promised to hand over after elections.

But protests, under whose pressure Bashir was forced out, have continued in Sudan, with people demanding that more civilians be on the council than military figures during the transition period.

Peaceful protests turned violent earlier this month, when the military started cracking down on demonstrators and using force to disperse sit-ins in the capital Khartoum.

The ruling generals and the coalition have also been holding talks for several weeks, but have so far failed to find a way out of the crisis.

In the meantime, Ethiopian mediators suggested that a ruling sovereign council would be made up of seven civilians and seven members of the military, with one additional seat reserved for an impartial individual, Reuters reported.

The council's spokesman, Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, said on Sunday the council had rejected Ethiopia's proposal, but had agreed in principle to the African Union's plan, details of which were not immediately known.

SS