Sudan protesters want civilian as head of new ruling body

Sudan's protest movement said that it is determined to have a civilian as head of a new governing council ahead of negotiations Sunday with army rulers to finalise its makeup.

Talks between the current ruling military council and the protest movement over the planned transfer of power are set to resume amid international pressure to return to the table after the generals suspended the negotiations earlier this week.

The Alliance for Freedom and Change, the umbrella group that brought down autocratic leader Omar Al Bashir after months-long protests against his three-decade rule, said the talks were set to begin at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) Sunday.

The military council had announced the previous night that the new round of talks would be held at the presidential palace in Khartoum.

"The talks will revolve around outstanding issues concerning the representation in the sovereign council and its chairmanship," the alliance said in a statement.

The generals and protest leaders are at loggerheads over the final composition of the next ruling body, the thorniest issue so far in negotiations between the two sides.

The generals insist the new body be military-led but the protest leaders are determined to have a majority civilian body.

On Sunday the protest movement said it is determined to have a "civilian sovereign council led by a civilian as its chairman and having a limited military representation".

The current military council that took power after ousting Bashir on April 11 is headed by General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the generals negotiating with protesters have previously said that Burhan would lead the new governing body too.