Sudan’s military rulers and protest leaders have agreed on the formation of a joint civilian-military council that would lead a transition from three decades of autocratic rule by Omar al-Bashir.

“We agreed on a joint council between the civilian and the military,” one of the leaders of the protest campaign, Ahmed al-Rabia, told AFP on Saturday.

“We are now in consultation about what percentage of the council should be represented by civilians and how much by the military,” he added.

The joint civilian-military council is meant to be a “sovereign ruling body” that will help establish a transitional civilian administration, according to sources close to the opposition alliance.

The agreement on the council’s formation is regarded as a major breakthrough in talks between the two sides since the current military leadership has so far refused to hand over power to a civilian administration.