Sudan protest leaders receive new AU, Ethiopia transition plan

The Sudanese Movement protesting for the military to hand over to civilian rule says it received a new proposal for a transition drafted by Ethiopia and the African Union.

The new proposal calls for a civilian-majority ruling council as demanded by protesters, but it fails to mention the make-up of a new transitional parliament.

the move comes after Sudan’s ruling generals urged mediators from the AU and Ethiopia to unify their efforts and come up with a joint proposal on the country’s transition.

Report says the proposal entails creating a 15-member, civilian-majority governing body for a three-year transitional period.

An earlier proposal drafted by Ethiopia had stipulated a transitional parliament of 300 lawmakers, with 67 percent of them from the alliance for freedom and change.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia and the African Union have stepped up diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Sudan,

The crisis which has been wracked by tensions between the protest leaders and generals exacerbated by the June 3 bloody dispersal of a long-running protest camp outside the army headquarters in Khartoum.

The break-up of the rally came after protest leaders and the generals failed at previous talks to agree on the composition of a new ruling body.

At least 128 people have been killed since the crackdown.

However, the health ministry put the June 3 death toll at 61 nationwide.