Sudan's army ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and deputy chief of the ruling military council Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hamidati) both announced Saturday they would implement the power-sharing deal agreed with the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance.
The announcement came as the protest campaign canceled a nationwide day of civil disobedience set for later this month.
On Friday, the ruling military council and protest leaders agreed to form a joint civilian-military governing body aimed at ending the country's months-long political crisis.
"We, as the military council, promise to protect what has been agreed upon and ensure that it is implemented," Burhan said on Saturday night in a statement broadcast live on state television.
"We are going to work with our partners from the Alliance for Freedom and Change and other forces in close cooperation in order to realize the aspirations of the people," he said.
Also, Dagalo was among those announcing the deal. “We would like to reassure all political forces, armed movements and all those who participated in the change ... that this agreement will be comprehensive and will not exclude anyone,” he said.
Relations between the military council that took over from Bashir and the FFC alliance broke down when security forces killed dozens as they cleared a sit-in on June 3. But after huge protests against the military last week, African mediators brokered a return to direct talks.
The two sides had also agreed two days ago to "establish a sovereign council by rotation between the military and civilians for a period of three years or slightly more," African Union mediator Mohamed Hassan Lebatt told a news conference.
The council would be led for the first 21 months by the military, and for the final 18 months by civilians, according to a statement from the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA).
Leader at the FFC, Ayman Khalid told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that he expects no disputes among FFC forces when choosing members of the sovereign council.
