The Sudanese army on Thursday announced the formation of a transitional council after the resignation of President Omar Al-Bashir, Al-Arabiya TV has reported.
The transitional council will be headed by Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, the First Vice President and Defense Minister of Sudan, the army was reported as saying. The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has spearheaded the protests, said they will only accept the handover of power to a civilian transitional government.
The Sudanese opposition party said they reject any changes that don’t meet the demands of the public, also noting how the Sudanese youth have the power to affect change in the country.
Meanwhile, former and current Sudanese officials, including Bashir’s former Vice President, Ali Osman Taha, and acting head of the National Congress Party, Ahmed Haroun, were reportedly arrested, as well as Bashir’s personal guards.
Sources also said the Khartoum airport was closed.
The Sudanese army was Thursday planning to make “an important announcement,” state media said, after months of protests against the longtime leader.
Thousands of Khartoum residents flooded the area around army headquarters where protesters have held an unprecedented sit-in now in its sixth day.
“The Sudanese army will issue an important statement soon. Wait for it,” the state television anchor said, without giving further details.
The protests, which erupted in December, have become the biggest challenge yet to Bashir’s three decades of iron-fisted rule.