Sudan’s military council declares roads, bridges opened in capital

Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) has agreed with the Sudanese opposition to open the main roads and bridges near the army’s general headquarters where thousands of Sudanese protesters are staging a sit-in.

“The TMC noted the importance of normalising the life of people, as we have discussed this matter with our partners of the Freedom and Change Alliance,” Shams-Eddin Kabashi, the TMC spokesman, said  on Monday at a press conference in the capital Khartoum.

The TMC decided to open the train tracks from Monday, and open the traffic on the armed forces’ bridge and Blue Nile bridge as soon as possible, in addition to removing the barricades in front of the police hospital, Kabashi noted.

He further explained that the two sides have agreed on the need to confront some security disturbances and combat negative phenomena such as theft, robbery and others.

In the meantime, Kabashi declared that the TMC and the opposition would soon reach an agreement on a joint sovereignty council to run the affairs of the country.

“We are optimistic to reach a deal soon regarding the sovereignty council and other structures,” he said.

He noted that the TMC proposed the sovereignty council to be of 10 members, seven military representatives and three civilians, while the opposition proposed a 15-member council, with eight civilians and seven military representatives.

The joint committee between the TMC and the alliance is discussing procedures concerning the formation of the mechanisms of the transitional period, including the sovereignty council, appointment of prime minister and formation of a civilian government.

The TMC, chaired by Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, is tasked with running the country’s affairs after former President Omar al-Bashir stepped down. –Xinhua