By Omer Erdem
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Demanding a civilian transition government following the removal of Omar al-Bashir from office, thousands of Sudanese protesters took to the streets Thursday in the capital Khartoum despite a military-imposed curfew.
Protesters gathered mainly outside the army headquarters calling for the resignation of Awad ibn Auf, defense minister and the newly-appointed head of a military transitional body tasked with running the country for two years, as well as other senior officials linked with al-Bashir's ousted government.
Sudanese opposition parties and professional associations also voiced “total rejection ” of the “military coup “.
Protests were expected to continue Friday.
Ibn Auf was sworn in as the chairman of the Military Transitional Council, taking oath in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Abdul Majid Idris which was broadcast live on state television.
Kamal Abdul-Marouf Al-Mahi, the chairman of the Joint Staff Command, was sworn in as deputy chairman of the council.
Ibn Auf announced a one-month curfew along with a three-month nationwide state of emergency as well as the suspension of Sudan’s 2005 Constitution and the dissolution of the Sudanese presidency, parliament, and council of ministers.
Al-Bashir came to power on the back of a 1989 military coup against the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi.
- Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev
