Sudanese president ousted after 30-year rule

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The Sudanese armed forces announced Thursday the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir and the beginning of a two-year interim period ruled by the High Council of the Armed Forces, Minister of Defense Awad bin Auf announced in a televised statement.

Auf, a military intelligence chief and vice president to al-Bashir, will lead the military council.

In this file photo taken on March 02, 2017, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir gives a press conference at the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum.(Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images, FILE) In this file photo taken on March 02, 2017, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir gives a press conference at the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum.

“The security council apologises to the Sudanese people for the killing and violence that took place,” Auf said in his statement.

He added that al-Bashir was removed from power and is currently “held in a safe place”.

The military statement also announced the annulment of the current constitution and the dissolving of the cabinet. A three-month state of emergency was announced in addition to a curfew from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Everyone will be tried by law, peacefulness is our method in revolution and change.

The Sudanese Professional Association (SPA), which has been spearheading the protests, rejected the military statement describing it as a “coup d’etat” that will reproduce the same “faces and institutions that our great people revolted against.”

The association called on protesters to continue with their sit-in in front of the headquarters of the general command of the armed forces.

“Those who destroyed the country and killed the people are seeking to steal every drop of blood and sweat that the Sudanese people poured in their revolution that the shook the throne of tyranny,” their statement read.

A grab from a live broadcast on Sudan TV shows Sudanese Defence Minister Ahmed Awad Ibnouf delivering a speech in Khartoum, announcing that President Omar al-Bashir was removed from power on April 11, 2019.(AFP/Getty Images) A grab from a live broadcast on Sudan TV shows Sudanese Defence Minister Ahmed Awad Ibnouf delivering a speech in Khartoum, announcing that President Omar al-Bashir was removed from power on April 11, 2019.

Sudanese people have been celebrating in anticipation of the news Thursday, with thousands flocking to the presidential palace and military headquarters in Khartoum, where protesters have been holding a sit-in for days.

Authorities announced earlier the release of all political prisoners who were arrested in the anti-government protests, according to the Sudan News Agency (SUNA).

The demonstrations in Sudan started in December to protest the rising cost of living and quickly escalated to calls to the end the 30-year rule of President al-Bashir.

Alaa Salah, a Sudanese woman propelled to internet fame earlier this week after clips went viral of her leading powerful protest chants against President Omar al-Bashir, addresses protesters during a demonstration in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum, April 10, 2019.(AFP/Getty Images) Alaa Salah, a Sudanese woman propelled to internet fame earlier this week after clips went viral of her leading powerful protest chants against President Omar al-Bashir, addresses protesters during a demonstration in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum, April 10, 2019.

Twenty-two protesters and five soldiers have been killed since the sit-in began Saturday, the Associated Press reported.

Last Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters marched to army headquarters to mark the 34th anniversary of the overthrow of former President Jaafar Nimeiri, who was removed in a bloodless coup after a popular uprising. A few years later, al-Bashir allied with Islamist hardliners and rose to power in a 1989 coup.

In this file photo taken on Sept. 22, 2017, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir delivers a speech during a visit to the village of Shattaya in South Darfur.(Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images, FILE) In this file photo taken on Sept. 22, 2017, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir delivers a speech during a visit to the village of Shattaya in South Darfur.

Al-Bashir has been wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and genocide against Darfur since 2009. Al-Bashir also hosted Osama bin Laden in Sudan in the ’90s.

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