Sudan’s three military generals resigns as protests continue

Three members of Sudan's ruling Transitional Military Council have resigned, but their resignations are yet to be accepted, the TMC said late on Wednesday.

Lieutenant-General Omar Zain al-Abideen who heads the TMC's political committee was one of the resigning members, the TMC said in a statement. The two others were Lieutenant-General Jalal al-Deen al-Sheikh and Lieutenant-General Al-Tayeb Babakr Ali Fadeel.

The resignations came after the Sudanese Professionals' Association, the main protest organizer, called for a million-strong march to take place on Thursday. One of the SPA's demands was that the three lieutenant-generals, Abideen, Fadeel, and Sheikh, be dismissed and tried over their alleged role in a crackdown that killed dozens of protesters.

It follows talks between the military council and protest leaders.

Protest leaders want the Transitional Military Council to hand over to a civilian administration.

Earlier on Wednesday evening, the opposition and the TMC agreed to form a committee to resolve their disagreements, amid tensions over how long it will take to move to civilian rule after the overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

A mass demonstration has been called for later on Thursday in the capital, Khartoum, to maintain calls for democratic reform.

Thousands of protesters have arrived by train from various cities to take part in the event, dubbed "the million-strong march for civilian rule"

At a press conference on Wednesday, military spokesman Lt-Gen Shamseddine Kabbashi said the two sides had reached agreement on most of the demands, and that they decided to set up a joint committee to bridge their differences.

"The Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change decided to respond to the invitation and listen with an open mind to what the president of the military council will propose, asserting that our desire is the peaceful transfer to a transitional civilian authority that reflects the forces of the revolution," the SPA said in a statement.

While the opposition has insisted on a swift handover of power to civilians, the TMC has said the process could take up to two years. Bashir ruled for 30 years after taking power in a military coup in 1989.