Sudan protesters tone down demands in standoff with military

Sudanese protesters have toned down some of their demands in an attempt to ease tensions with the ruling military council that took over the country after ousting President Omar al-Bashir last month.

The protesters, who had rallied for over four months against al-Bashir's 30-year rule, are demanding the military hand over power to civilians.

They have been holding a sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum and have also been negotiating with the council on the makeup of a transitional sovereign council for an interim period.

Both sides insist they should have the majority of seats in the transitional council.

The Forces of the Declaration for Freedom and Change, a coalition led by the Sudanese Professionals Association, released a new proposal on Thursday that altogether drops the issue of seat allocations.

They also handed the military council proposals for the new civilian structures they want to see rule the country eventually, including executive and legislative bodies. 

The army said it would examine the document and "continue with our communication with the alliance".

Bashir's regime was replaced by a 10-member military council.

Protest leaders wanted to replace that with a mixed body, but say the generals are not serious about handing power to civilians.

Three weeks after Bashir was ousted by the military, vast crowds of demonstrators thronged the area around Sudan's army headquarters in Khartoum on Thursday for a "million-strong" march demanding a civilian administration.

Agencies contributed to this report.