Senior leaders resign in Sudan as protests continue
Russia called on all political forces in Sudan to return order to the country, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
KHARTOUM: The leader of Sudan’s transitional military council and the head of the country’s intelligence service have resigned as nationwide protests continue in the country.
Sudanese Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf was sworn in as head of the council on Thursday after the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir and his government.
At the time, a number of measures were announced including two-year transitional period, a three month state of emergency and a month-long curfew from 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM.
However, with protests continuing, Ibn Auf announced his resignation on Friday, naming LtGen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan as his successor.
Salih Ghosh, head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) resigned on Saturday. The resignation cap a dramatic weekend in the country that saw the fall of al-Bashir, bringing to an end his three decade long rule.
Sudan’s opposition and protesters have demanded power be transferred to a civilian government.
“We urge the new leadership of the army, top of them Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan AbdelRahman, to listen to the voice of the street and immediately embark on transferring the power to a transitional civilian government through the leadership council of the freedom and change alliance,” said the opposition Freedom and Change Alliance in a statement.
The international community has called for dialogue and reconciliation during the transition process in Sudan.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for “calm and utmost restraint by all” in Sudan, a UN spokesman said Thursday.
Guterres said that the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people will be realised through an appropriate and inclusive transition process, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
He reaffirmed that the United Nations stands ready to support the Sudanese people as they chart a new way forward, Dujarric said.
UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund released emergency funds of 26.5 million U.S. dollars to provide life-saving assistance in Sudan over the next six months.
The allocation will provide food, livelihood, nutrition, health, water and sanitation to over 800,000 people affected by a worsening economic crisis and food insecurity across seven states in Sudan, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a press release.
Russia called on all political forces in Sudan to return order to the country, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
“We are closely monitoring the situation, and we hope that there will not be an escalation of the situation that could lead to human sacrifice,” Peskov told reporters.
He said that the developments in Sudan were exclusively an internal affair of the Sudanese.
But the Kremlin hoped that Russia and Sudan would maintain their relations in any outcome, he added. Egypt expressed its full support for the choice of the Sudanese people and their free will to determine the future of Sudan, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Egypt also urged the international community to support what the Sudanese people will agree on “in this decisive historical stage.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for national reconciliation in Sudan and managing the transition process peacefully.
“I hope that Sudan gets through its current process in national reconciliation and peace, and I believe the country should work towards a normal democratic process,” Erdogan said.
Sudan has experienced popular protests since 19 December 2018, demonstrators rallying against deteriorating economic conditions and price hikes on basic commodities.