Sudan power sharing deal delayed until Sunday: AU official

A top African Union diplomat says a planned a meeting between Sudanese protesters and the country's ruling generals to sign a power-sharing deal has been postponed until Sunday.

African Union envoy Mohammed el-Hassan Labat spoke on Saturday after meeting with the military council and Ethiopia's envoy, Mahmoud Dirir.

"The Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change delegation asked for more consultations, and thanks to the transitional military council for accepting this demand so the meeting will be tomorrow," Labat told reporters.

Earlier on Saturday, thousands of Sudanese filled the streets of the capital of Khartoum and other cities Saturday to mark the 40th day since the deadly dispersal of a protest sit-in.

The "Justice First" marches were called by the Sudanese Professionals' Association, which has been spearheading the protests since December.

Those demonstrations, which were triggered by the tripling of bread prices in Sudan, led to the military ouster of long time president Omar al-Bashir in April.

Bashir, who swept to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989, is currently in jail awaiting trial. He is due to face charges of money-laundering and possession of large sums of money without legal justification in court at the end of July.