The spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Friday that the Secretary-General is encouraged by the agreement between the Forces of Freedom and Change and the Transitional Military Council in Sudan.

The agreement was brokered by the African Union and Ethiopia to bring peace and stability to the country. Sudan has been in upheaval since April when former president Omar al-Bashir was ousted. The new agreement provides for power to be shared between civilians and the military through a civilian-led government and a sovereign council. The sovereign council will be made up of five members of the democratic protests, five members of the military, and one member chosen jointly acting as a kind of joint presidency.

The Secretary-General thanked the African Union and Ethiopia for their actions as mediators and called for the agreement to be implemented inclusively and transparently. The Secretary-General also called for investigations into violence against peaceful protesters and reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to assist in the transitional period. While many praise this deal as a positive first step by the military, others are concerned that the military may not implement the deal in good faith. Others fear that Bashir loyalists still in government may stand in the way of necessary economic reform in Sudan.