Sudan transition: Lt-Gen Burhan sworn in as Sovereign Council chief

KHARTOUM - e leader of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC), Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, has been sworn in as leader of the newly established sovereign council.

He will lead a group of six civilians and four other military o cers as part of a planned 39-month long transition to democracy.

ere will also be a prime minister and cabinet.

e new government comes after Omar al-Bashir was ousted in April.

He had been president for nearly 30 years but was removed by the military after months of protests.

On Saturday, the TMC and civilian leaders signed a deal that should pave the way to a new democratic dispensation

Under the agreement, LtGen Burhan will be in charge of the Sovereign Council, which replaces the TMC, for the rst 21 months; a civilian will then take over until elections in 2022.

e other 10 members of the council were also sworn on Wednesday.

In addition, respected economist Abdalla Hamdok, who was nominated by civilian protest leaders as prime minister, is due to be sworn in.

e ministers of defence and interior, who will be part of a cabinet, will be chosen by the military.

e deal was not perfect but was an important step, Dr Mohanad Hamid, a spokesman for the umbrella opposition group, the Sudanese Professionals Association, said.

"We are positive that we are together as Sudanese, a government and people that will together push forward to improve the level of our economy, improve the level of our health system and our education," he added.

Gen Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo, the second in command in the TMC, has pledged to abide by the terms of the deal.