Asmaa Al-Hussaini (Cairo – Khartoum)
The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, met yesterday in his office at the Presidential Palace in Khartoum, the delegation of ambassadors of the “Troika” countries in Khartoum, which includes the United States, Norway and Britain.
In a statement after the meeting, Ambassador Lucy Tamlin, Chargé d’Affairs of the US Embassy to Sudan, said that the meeting of the Troika countries with Al-Burhan was frank and constructive, in which the “Troika” countries announced their strong support for facilitating the efforts of the political dialogue process between the Sudanese under the auspices of the United Nations, the African Union and the IGAD, which It is expected to lead to the establishment of an acceptable transitional and civilian government.
She added that the “troika” countries announced their strong support for all efforts aimed at achieving a democratic civil transition in Sudan.
On the other hand, the Sudanese authorities have taken intensive security measures in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in anticipation of today’s demonstrations on the anniversary of the April 6 uprising that toppled the regime of former Sudanese President Jaafar Nimeiri, which the resistance committees called for to demand civilian rule.
The sixth of April also marks the 3rd anniversary of the arrival of millions of Sudanese to the headquarters of the army’s general command in central Khartoum, to be followed days after the overthrow of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
The coordination of the resistance committees in the state of Khartoum decided to conduct decentralized demonstrations in the three cities of the capital, and a date was set for four in the afternoon for the demonstrations to start.
The protesters anticipated today’s protests by participating in night demonstrations in the capital’s neighborhoods, and propaganda processions urging participation in the protests.
This comes at a time, in The Hague, the Netherlands, the trial of the leader of the armed militia, Ali Abdul Rahman Koshayb, before the First Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court, after he was charged earlier with about 31 charges related to war crimes and crimes against humanity believed to have been carried out in the Darfur region of western Sudan. In 2003 and 2004, the charges against him included murder, attempted murder, looting, rape, torture, forcible transfer, destruction of property, persecution, and attacks.
Kushayb pleaded during the trial his innocence of the charges against him, and said that he was innocent of all charges, while the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, described the day of the trial as critical for those waiting for justice in Sudan.
Kushayb’s trial comes two years after he voluntarily surrendered to the court in the Central African country, after he managed to escape from Sudan in 2020, and was transferred to the detention center in The Hague.
The Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant against Kushayb in 2007, in addition to a group of Sudanese leaders headed by the ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, his Minister of Defense Abdel Rahim Hussein, and Minister of State in the Ministry of Interior Ahmed Haroun.
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