UN ENVOY ANNOUNCES A TWO-YEAR TRANSITION PERIOD IN SUDAN
UN envoy said Friday that a two-year transition period to civilian rule announced by the military council that seized power in the country could be shortened as protesters kept up their demands for change.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Sudan’s charge d’affaires Yasir Abdelsalam offered assurances that the military council would support an inclusive civilian-led government.
“The (military) council will be the guarantor of a civilian government to be formed in collaboration with political forces and stakeholders. No party will be excluded. The transitional period could be shortened depending on developments on the ground and agreements between stakeholders,” Abdelsalam told the Security Council.
The military rulers who removed president Omar al-Bashir from office on Thursday have offered dialogue with all political groups on forming a civilian government.
Protesters, who took to the streets months ago to demand an end to Bashir’s rule, have kept up their demonstrations, denouncing an army coup and calling for civilian rule.
The Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was ousted two days ago and arrested following nearly four months of protests against his 30-year rule, the defense minister said.
Speaking on state television on April 11, Awad Ibn Ouf said that Bashir had been detained “in a safe place” and that a military council will oversee a two-year transitional period followed by elections.
The announcement came as tens of thousands of people marched through the capital, Khartoum, some shouting that the “regime has fallen.”
Reports said that troops had deployed at key sites in the city, and raided Bashir’s Islamic movement, which is linked to the ruling party.
Protests against Bashir, who took power in a coup in 1989, have been under way since December.
They were originally sparked by price hikes and cash shortages, but they quickly turned into rallies against Bashir’s rule.
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov called for calm in Sudan and expressed hope that “whatever the outcome, Russian-Sudanese relations” will be a priority for Khartoum.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in January that “representatives of Russian private security companies, who have nothing to do with Russian state bodies, are operating” in the African country.