Sudan military ruler 'to head new joint council'

POLITICS

The head of Sudan's ruling military council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, will head a new joint civilian-military council when it is formed, a top general said on Tuesday.

"The head of the sovereign council will be the chief of the transitional military council," Lieutenant General Salah Abdelkhalik told reporters.

The replacement of the current military council with a civilian-led body has been the central demand of protesters who have kept up months of demonstrations since the army toppled veteran strongman Omar al-Bashir on April 11.

Meanwhile, six Sudanese security personnel have been killed nationwide in clashes with protesters, the ruling military council announced on Tuesday.

Another 16 members of the security forces were wounded in the clashes on Monday, the council's deputy chief Mohamed Hamadan Dagolo, widely known as Himeidti, said.

In a further development, the ruling military council said it is "not against" the thousands of protesters holding a sit-in outside army headquarters, dismissing reports it was trying to disperse the demonstration.

"We are not against the continuation of the sit-in and we offered to help in providing support for protesters during Ramadan," Himeiditi told reporters.

Sudanese military vehicles and soldiers were pictured behind makeshift barricades as protesters gathered during the sit-in outside the army headquarters

These Sudanese men used a false camera and microphone to stage interviews with protesters during the sit-in

Meanwhile Sudanese soldiers watched the protesters taking part in the sit-in

As all that happened, this Sudanese woman sat quietly with a child in the capital