Sudan military leaders reinstate deposed prime minister Hamdok
CAIRO — Sudan’s deposed prime minister signed a deal with the military on Sunday that will see him reinstated, almost a month after a military coup put him under house arrest.
A key pro-democracy group that has mobilized dozens of protests had dismissed the deal as “a form of betrayal.”
The deal, announced in a ceremony broadcast live on Sudan state TV, envisages an independent technocratic Cabinet to be led by Abdalla Hamdok until elections can be held.
It remains unclear how much power the government would hold. It would still remain under military oversight.
It also remains unclear whether any political parties or pro-democracy groups have signed off on the agreement.
The deal expects the military to release government officials and politicians arrested since the Oct. 25 coup.
The coup, more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar alBashir and his Islamist government, has drawn international criticism.
“The signing of this deal opens the door wide enough to address all the challenges of the transitional period,” said Hamdok, speaking at the signing ceremony.
Sudanese have been taking to the streets in masses since the military takeover, which upended the country’s fragile transition to democracy. The agreement comes just days after doctors said at least 15 people were killed by live fire during anti-coup demonstrations.
Hamdok has been held under house arrest by military leaders for weeks.
The deal also stipulates that an investigation shall be conducted to identify those responsible for the killing and injuring of civilians and troops that marred protests following the coup.
Hamdok thanked Sudan’s “regional and global friends” who helped in reaching this agreement but he did not name the countries.
The 14-clause deal also stressed that power should be handed over to an elected civilian government after the end of the transitional period.
EDE, Netherlands — Dutch police have arrested more than 30 people during unrest in The Hague and other towns in the Netherlands that followed an “orgy of violence ” the previous night at a protest against coronavirus restrictions.
The violence by groups of youths in The Hague and elsewhere Saturday night wasn’t as serious as Friday night in Rotterdam, where police opened fire on rampaging rioters and arrested 51 people.
Police said that they arrested 19 people in The Hague and used a water cannon to extinguish a fire on a street.
Two soccer matches in the country’s top professional league were briefly halted when fans — banned from matches under a partial lockdown in force in the Netherlands for a week — broke into stadiums in the towns of Alkmaar and Almelo.
BRUSSELS — Ten of thousands of people demonstrated through central Brussels to protest reinforced COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter the latest spike in coronavirus cases.
Many among the police estimate of 35,000 at the rally had already left for home when the demonstration descended into violence as several hundred people started pelting police, smashing cars and setting garbage bins ablaze.
Police, responded with tear gas and water cannons and sought to restore order as dusk settled on the Belgian capital.
Three police officials and one demonstrator were injured in the clashes.
In addition, 42 protesters were detained and two were arrested and charged in the violent spree that followed the march, said police spokesperson Ilse Vande Keere.