Sudanese protesters erected impromptu street barriers of rocks and tires for the seventh day on Wednesday, as military leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan sacked the country’s final civilian members of the executive council.
Burhan, who seized power in an October coup, has promised to “create place” for civilian organizations to form a new transitional government after dissolving the reigning Sovereign Council, which he leads. Members of the council stated that they had received no formal communication and were astonished to learn that their official vehicles had been taken away.
The transitional government deposed by Burhan last year was formed in 2019 by military and civilian factions in response to widespread protests that drove the army to depose dictator Omar Bashir.
Burhan’s newest move, according to Sudan’s biggest civilian alliance, the Forces for Freedom and Change, was a “huge farce” and “tactical retreat.” Protesters returned to Khartoum’s streets on Wednesday, calling for “continuous public pressure.”
According to democracy campaigners, the army leader has made similar steps in the past. Burhan reached a deal with Abdalla Hamdok, the prime minister he had deposed in the coup and placed under house arrest, in November, restoring him to power.
However, many people rejected the agreement and returned to the streets, and Hamdok resigned in January, warning that Sudan was “reaching a hazardous turning point that threatens its very survival.”
Source: Arab News