TIA WEB DESK
In Sudan, the head of country’s ruling military council General Awad Ibn Auf has resigned naming Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Burhan as his successor. The announcement was made by General Auf in a speech broadcast live on state television late on Friday as tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, demanding a civilian-led transition government.
The announcement came a day after General Auf was sworn in as the head of a transitional military council following the ouster of long-time president Omar al-Bashir. The Sudanese Professionals Association which has spearheaded the nationwide protest campaign hailed Ibn Ouf’s departure as the victory of the people’s will.
The new leader Burhan is one of the generals who reached out to protesters at the week-long encampment near the military headquarters, meeting with them face to face, and listening to their views. Meanwhile, the country’s military council has asked all ‘political forces’ in the country to name two representatives by Saturday for a dialogue on the country’s transition, official SUNA news agency reported. One of the members of the council Omar Zain al-Abideen said, there will be a civilian government and they will not intervene in its composition.
The demonstrations against Bashir’s 30-year rule first erupted in December, triggered by a tripling of the bread prices in one of the world’s most impoverished countries.