Turmoil hits Sudan after President al-Bashir is overthrown in a coup
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President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan in autocratic style for 30 years, was yesterday overthrown and arrested in a coup by the armed forces.
In an address on state television, Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf announced a two-year period of military rule to be followed by presidential elections.
He said Bashir, 75, was being held in a 鈥渟afe place鈥 and a military council would now run the country. He did not say who would head it.
Seated on a gold-upholstered armchair, Auf announced a state of emergency, a nationwide cease-fire and the suspension of the constitution. Sudan鈥檚 airspace would be closed for 24 hours and border crossings shut until further notice.
The main organizer of protests against Bashir, the Sudanese Professionals Association, rejected the minister鈥檚 plans. It called on protesters to maintain a sit-in outside the defense ministry that started on Saturday, a source with the group said.
Sudanese sources said that Bashir was at the presidential residence under 鈥渉eavy guard.鈥 A son of Sadiq al-Mahdi, head of the country鈥檚 main opposition Umma Party, told al-Hadath TV that Bashir was being held with 鈥渁 number of leaders of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group.鈥
Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague and is facing an arrest warrant over allegations of genocide in Sudan鈥檚 Darfur region during an insurgency that began in 2003 and led to death of an estimated 300,000 people.
Despite the arrest warrant Bashir defied the court by visiting several ICC member states. Diplomatic rows broke out when he went to South Africa in 2015 and Jordan in 2017 and both failed to arrest him.
Names of Bashir鈥檚 possible successors that have been circulating include the defense minister, an ex-military intelligence chief, also an Islamist, and former army chief of staff Emad al-Din Adawi. Adawi is said to be favored by regional neighbors at odds with Bashir over his Islamist leanings.
Thousands of people flocked to an anti-government protest outside the defense ministry yesterday, while huge crowds took to the streets in central Khartoum, dancing and shouting anti-Bashir slogans. Protesters chanted: 鈥淚t has fallen, we won.鈥
Demonstrators called for a civilian government and said they would not accept an administration led by military and security figures, or by Bashir鈥檚 aides.
Omar Saleh Sennar, a senior member of the Sudanese Professionals鈥 Association, said it expected to negotiate with the military over a transfer of power. 鈥淲e will only accept a transitional civilian government,鈥 Sennar said.
The latest crisis has escalated since the weekend, when thousands of demonstrators began camping out outside the defense ministry compound, where Bashir鈥檚 residence is located.
Since December, Sudan has been rocked by persistent protests sparked by the government鈥檚 attempt to raise the price of bread and an economic crisis that has led to fuel and cash shortages.
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