KHARTOUM, SUDAN – APRIL 10: Sudanese protesters, demanding
the resignation of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, stage a demonstration
against high cost of living, fuel and cash shortage in front of army
headquarters building in Khartoum, Sudan.
Government sources and the minister of production and
economic resources in North Darfur, Adel Mahjoub Hussein, told Dubai-based
al-Hadath TV that Bashir had stepped down and consultations were taking place
to form a ruling military council.
Sudanese sources told Reuters news agency that Mr al-Bashir,
75, was deposed by the army and was at the presidential residence under “heavy
guard”.
Soldiers stormed the headquarters of Bashir’s Islamic
Movement, the main component of the ruling National Congress Party, a Reuters
witness said.
Protests against Mr al-Bashir, who has governed Sudan for 30
years since 1989, have been under way since December.
Tens of thousands of people have been maintaining a protest
vigil outside military headquarters since Saturday, demanding the removal of
the president.
On two successive nights they were attacked by intelligence
and militia forces loyal to him – and on both occasions the army stepped in to
protect them, an early sign of fracturing in a previously steadfast security
establishment.
The protests were originally sparked by a rise in the cost
of living, but demonstrators have been calling for the president to resign and
for his government to go.
Representatives of the protesters said they were seeking
talks with the army regarding the formation of a transitional government.
KHARTOUM, SUDAN – APRIL 10: Sudanese protesters, demanding
the resignation of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, stage a demonstration
against high cost of living, fuel and cash shortage in front of army
headquarters building in Khartoum, Sudan.
Omar el-Digeir, a senior protest member, told AFP news
agency last week the group was seeking a path “that represents the wish of the
revolution”.
Police have ordered officers not to intervene against the
protests.
On Tuesday, a police spokesman called for “an agreement
which would support the peaceful transition of power” in Sudan.
The government has been criticised by rights groups for a
heavy-handed response to the unrest.
Government officials admit 38 people have died since the
unrest began in December, but the pressure group Human Rights Watch said the
number was higher.
In February, it looked as though the president might step
down, but instead Mr al-Bashir declared a state of national emergency.
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