Asmaa Al-Hussaini (Cairo, Khartoum)
The majority of the members of the new Sovereignty Council in Sudan took the constitutional oath before the council’s president, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the head of the judiciary, including his deputy, Lieutenant-General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti”, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, while 3 members representing the “Revolutionary Front” did not take the oath, namely Hadi Idris. Malik Agar and Al-Taher Hajar, in addition to the member representing eastern Sudan, who has not been selected yet.
This comes at a time when there have been many reactions condemning the formation of the council inside Sudan and at the international level, as United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric considered that developments in Sudan are very worrying, including the appointment of a new Sovereign Council.
“We want to see the resumption of the transfer as soon as possible, and the release of Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok and the rest of the politicians and officials who were arrested,” Dujarric added during a press conference.
For his part, Volker Peretz, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Head of its Mission in Sudan, warned that the window for dialogue and a peaceful solution to the crisis is closing.
And Peretz expressed his concern about the appointment of a new Sovereignty Council, saying: It makes it more difficult to return to the constitutional order.
Al-Hadi Idris, head of the “Revolutionary Front” and head of the Sudan Liberation Army, issued a statement confirming that the formation of the new Sovereignty Council does not concern them in anything, and that the announcement of the appointment of the leaders of the Front caused confusion in Sudanese circles, stressing that it is an unsuccessful tactic intended to split the general national ranks. In anticipation of the expected mass demonstrations.
For his part, Lieutenant-General Hanafi Abdullah, director of the Center for Security Studies in Khartoum and former undersecretary of the intelligence service, told Al-Ittihad: The formation of the new Sovereignty Council is a real democratic transformation that paves the way for completing the transitional period, which was threatened as a result of many accumulations of interactions and conflicts, which affected the on Sudanese national security. Abdullah expected the formation of the transitional government very soon, from technocrats and independent experts chosen by the national forces.
For its part, the Troika, the European Union and Switzerland called for the return of Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok and the transitional government to power, expressing concern over the announcement of a new sovereign council in Sudan.
A statement issued by the group yesterday stated that it expresses its disapproval about the formation of a new Sovereignty Council, and considers it a new violation of the constitutional document.
Meanwhile, Omdurman witnessed yesterday, demonstrations after Friday prayers, denouncing the formation of the new Sovereignty Council.
The Sudanese authorities anticipated the demonstrations called by the Sudanese resistance forces and the gathering of professionals by announcing the closure of all bridges leading to Khartoum starting from midnight last night, except for 3 bridges, according to Sudanese TV.
At the same time, the Sudanese Professionals Association and the coordination of the Resistance Committees confirmed their full readiness, in preparation for the millions of demonstrations they called for today.
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