Sudan’s main protest group called on Tuesday for a general strike, saying two late-night negotiation sessions with the military had failed to reach a deal on how to lead the country after the overthrow of former president Omar al-Bashir.
An alliance of protest and opposition organizations is demanding civilians head a new Sovereign Council which is meant to oversee a three-year transition towards democracy. But the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) protest group said the army was still insisting on directing the transition and keeping a military majority on the council. It said members should mobilise for a strike, without giving a date.
The impasse has hit hopes of a quick recovery from the political turmoil that climaxed in the end of Bashir’s three-decade rule on April 11. The former Islamist general, under whose rule Sudan was placed on a U.S. list of sponsors of terrorism, was ousted by the army after months of protests against soaring prices, cash shortages and other economic hardships.
The army set up a Transitional Military Council (TMC) to rule the country and promised to hand over after elections. But, wary of the example of neighbouring Egypt where the head of the army eventually became president after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, Sudanese protesters have sought guarantees of civilian control.
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