admin
Sudan’s military council said yesterday that the army has “no ambition to hold the reins of power” a day after removing President Omar al-Bashir.
Omar Zein al-Abideen, the head of military council’s political committee, stressed that the military was “ready to step down as early as a month” to make way for a civilian-led government, but main protest group “vehemently rejected” the proposal.
In a statement, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) restated its demand for power to be handed immediately to “a transitional civilian government”.
“What happened was that the masks merely changed, it is the same regime that the people revolted against, seeking to remove it from its roots,” said the SPA, which has spearheaded months-long anti-government protests.
“We are still in the path of true revolution … our martyrs have shed their blood in pursuit for freedom and justice,” it said.
The pro-democracy protesters continue to camp outside army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum and called for people to rally after Friday prayers to demand immediate transfer of power. The council, which is now running Sudan under Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf, said it expects a pre-election transition period it announced on Thursday to last two years at most or much less if chaos can be avoided.
Ibn Auf, who was Bashir’s vice president and defence minister and is among a handful of Sudanese commanders sanctioned by Washington for his role during the atrocities committed in the Darfur conflict.
Large tents were put up and people brought food and handed out water as the crowd swelled at the defence compound. Ahmed al-Sadek, a 39-year-old trader, said he had not slept at his home since the sit-in began on Saturday. Activists wearing yellow vests controlled traffic around the compound yesterday morning and managed foot traffic to and from the sit-in, a Reuters witness said. They also blocked a major bridge in central Khartoum. – Al Jazeera
Online Reporter