Sudan’s Bashir names new VP, prime minister as demonstrations continue
25 February, 2019
Sudanese police fired teargas at demonstrators on Saturday as fresh protests broke out against the rule of President Omar al-Bashir, after he appointed a new prime minister and first vice president a day after declaring a state of emergency.
Police confronted dozens of protesters in the Shambat neighborhood of Khartoum North, and similarly sized crowds in the Wad Nubawi and Abbasiya neighborhoods of Omdurman, witnesses said.
Protesters in Shambat blocked a road and burned car tires, witnesses said. Demonstrators chanted “Revolution is the people’s choice,” and other slogans, in Wad Nubawi. In Abbasiya chants, included “Down, that’s it,” a rallying call that underlines their main demand for Bashir to go.
A statement from the president’s office said Mohamed Tahir Ayala, the governor of Gezira State who was previously touted by Bashir as a potential successor as president, was appointed prime minister. Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf, an ex-military intelligence chief, became first vice president, while retaining his defense portfolio.
Bashir had declared a one-year nationwide state of emergency on Friday and set up a caretaker administration. He replaced all state governors with military officials.
In a televised speech he urged his opponents to join a “path of national reconciliation” and dialogue. He called on parliament to postpone constitutional amendments that would allow him to seek another term in 2020, but stopped short of saying explicitly he would not run.
TAG(s):