Sudan's ruling army council has 'no ambition for power’

<p>By Mahmoud Barkat and Ali Abo Rezeg</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Sudan's Military Transitional Council (MTC) on Friday insisted that it had no interest in remaining in power beyond its mandate, saying it had assumed control of the country &quot;for the sake of the people&quot; and to &quot;avoid chaos&quot; following the departure of longstanding President Omar al-Bashir.</p> <p>On Thursday, the army announced the “removal” of al-Bashir, who has ruled Sudan since 1989, following months of popular demonstrations against his continued rule.</p> <p>It also announced the imposition of a two-year &quot;transitional phase&quot; to be overseen by the MTC.</p> <p>“We have no ambition for power,” an MTC-appointed “political committee” said in a statement issued Friday. “Our priority is the country's stability.” </p> <p>“We stand with the demands of the people,” it added. “We are part of them [i.e., the people].”</p> <p>On Thursday evening, Defense Minister Awad ibn Auf was sworn in as MTC chairman.</p> <p>He took the constitutional oath in a ceremony aired on state television and presided over by Chief Justice Abdul Majid Idris.</p> <p>Kamal Abdul-Marouf al-Mahi, chairman of Sudan’s joint chiefs-of-staff, was sworn in as deputy MTC chairman.</p> <p>In a statement to media outlets, the political committee said the MTC would communicate with the heads of Sudanese political parties to discuss recent developments.</p> <p>“There will be a civil government, to be agreed upon by political entities, and we will not interfere in this,” the committee asserted.</p> <p>“We are sons of Suar al-Dahab,” it added, referring to a Sudanese army commander who relinquished executive authority to a civilian government in 1986.</p> <p>The MTC has also vowed to talk to protester leaders, who have continued to stage demonstrations in Khartoum, and “hear their vision”.</p> <p>The committee added that the MTC would not hand al-Bashir over to the International Criminal Court for prosecution and that it would work towards having longstanding U.S. sanctions on Sudan lifted.</p> <p>Along with announcing al-Bashir’s removal on Thursday, the army also announced the imposition of a one-month curfew — which went into effect Thursday evening — and a three-month nationwide state of emergency.</p> <p>It further announced the suspension of Sudan’s 2005 constitution, along with the dissolution of the Sudanese presidency, parliament and council of ministers.</p> <p>Opposition parties and professional associations, meanwhile, have reacted to the move by expressing their “total rejection” of what they describe as a &quot;military coup&quot;.</p> <p>In a joint statement released Thursday evening, Sudan’s leading professional syndicate and several opposition parties voiced their refusal to “replace one military coup with another”.</p> <p>Al-Bashir came to power in 1989 on the back of a military coup against the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi.</p>