By Omer Erdem</p> <p>KHARTOUM (AA) – Sudan's Defense Minister Awad ibn Auf was sworn in Thursday as chairman of the new Military Transitional Council following the overthrow of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.</p> <p>Ibn Auf took the constitutional oath in the capital Khartoum in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Abdul Majid Idris which was broadcast live on state television.</p> <p>Kamal Abdul-Marouf Al-Mahi, chairman of the Joint Staff Command, was sworn in as deputy chairman of the council.</p> <p>The Sudanese military earlier Thursday announced the removal of al-Bashir, who had ruled Sudan since 1989, and the imposition of a two-year "transitional phase" following mass demonstrations calling for the president to step down.</p> <p>Ibn Auf also announced in a televised statement the imposition of a one-month curfew — to take effect Thursday evening — along with a three-month nationwide state of emergency.</p> <p>He further announced the suspension of Sudan’s 2005 Constitution and the dissolution of the Sudanese presidency, parliament and council of ministers.</p> <p>He said a military council would be drawn up to run the country’s affairs during the post-Bashir interim phase.</p> <p>Sudanese opposition parties and professional associations voiced “total rejection” of what they described as a "military coup".</p> <p>Al-Bashir came to power on the back of a 1989 military coup against the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi.</p> <p>*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev