Sudan's opposition Freedom and Change Alliance on Saturday said it has reached a primary deal with the Transitional Military Council (TMC) to form a joint sovereignty council, with the issue of representation to be decided later, lcoal media Sudan Tribune reported.

"An actual agreement has been reached on formation of a sovereignty council of civilian and military representation," Omer Al-Digair, member of the alliance's negotiating committee, was quoted in the report as saying.

He said a third meeting would be held on Sunday to decide the representation of each party in this council.

According to leakages, differences over representation delayed the announcement of the joint sovereignty council.

The TMC proposed the sovereignty council should be of ten members, while the opposition insisted that it should be of 15 members.

The alliance proposed eight civilians and seven military representatives, while the TMC proposed three civilian and seven military representatives.

The joint committee between the TMC and the alliance on Saturday held its first meeting to discuss procedures concerning the formation of the mechanisms of the transitional period, including the sovereignty council, appointment of prime minister and formation of a civilian government.

The TMC, chaired by Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, is tasked with running the country's affairs after President Omar al-Bashir stepped down.

Xinhua