Sudanese protesters "will appoint a transitional government"

The leaders of the Sudanese protest movement announced that they would appoint members of a transitional authority on Sunday to replace the current military junta.

After months of demonstrations, the army chased longtime leader, Omar al-Bashir, last week.

But the protesters want the army to entrust power to a civilian authority.

In support of their demands, huge crowds gathered again in front of Army headquarters on Friday, chanting "Freedom, Peace and Justice".

Thousands of people gathered in the center of the capital, Khartoum, after Friday prayers at the biggest demonstrations since Bashir was ousted, the Reuters news agency reported.

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The army has yielded to several requests from protesters, saying they can appoint a prime minister and transfer Mr. Bashir to a maximum security prison.

However, he refused to withdraw and many Sudanese fear that the same elite of military officials and politicians will still be in power behind the scenes.

"If we do not stay, it will be as if we have done nothing, we will stay until the military council is ousted," 26-year-old protester Rania Ahmed told Reuters.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the protests, announced that it would appoint members of its transitional council at a press conference Sunday at 17:00 GMT in front of the base military.

"We demand that this civilian council, which will include representatives of the army, will replace the military council," AFP Ahmed al-Rabia, head of the medical union coordination group, told AFP. , engineers and teachers.

At the same time, the United States announced it would send Makila James, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Africa to Khartoum this weekend.

"The will of the Sudanese people is clear: it is time to move to a transitional government that is inclusive and respectful of human rights and the rule of law," said the spokesman for the Sudanese government. State Morgan Ortagus.

The protests began four months ago, after the cuts in bread and fuel subsidies, which led to soaring prices.

But the turmoil quickly turned into a demand for resignation of Bashir, who has been in power since the 1989 coup.

"Generals have a lot to lose"

Alastair Leithead, BBC News, Khartoum

While the military council offers what it considers to be concessions, the protesters want more guarantees that the gains they have made so far will not be lost.

They barricaded themselves in a vast area of ​​central Khartoum, near the army headquarters, creating a chaos of traffic that is testing people's patience.

But their presence and the pressures they exert are essential for behind-the-scenes discussions as politicians and technocrats work hard for a civil transition.

Building a democratic state that works after 30 years of military rule does not happen in a week and the opposition is far from being a coherent unit.

As in Egypt, the army is strong. Its generals will not easily give up power because they have a lot to lose, even if they give the impression of moving towards democracy.