Sudan's military rejects Ethiopia's transition proposal

Sudan‘s military has rejected Ethiopia‘s proposal to end the political deadlock over the composition of the country’s transitional government.

The ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the opposition coalition have been wrangling for weeks over what form Sudan’s transitional government should take after the military deposed long-time President Omar al-Bashir on April 11.

Ethiopia’s proposal, which the opposition coalition has agreed to, suggests that a ruling sovereign council would be made up of seven civilians and seven members of the military, with one additional seat reserved for an impartial individual, according to Reuters.

The TMC spokesman, Lieutenant General Shams al-Din Kabbashi, instead said on Sunday that he agreed in principle to the African Union (AU) plan.

“The African Union’s initiative came first,” said Kabbashi, adding that the council had not studied the Ethiopian initiative, which he described as unilateral.

Details of the AU proposal were not immediately known.

Kabbashi said that Ethiopia and the AU needed to unify their efforts to mediate between the council and the opposition coalition spearheading of months-long pro-democracy protests.

“We asked the mediators to unite their efforts and submit a joint paper as soon as possible to return the parties to negotiations,” Kabbashi said