Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir was arrested and forced to resign by the military on Thursday, April 11 after 30 years in power.
This was revealed by Sudan’s Defence Minister General Awad Ibn Auf who said Bashir was taken to a “safe place” and that he takes over for the next two years until followed by elections.
The ouster of al-Bashir comes just a week after Algeria’s president Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to step down after 20 years in power on the back of a popular uprising.
PovoNews.com previously reported that the Sudanese army took control of the national TV and radio headquarters on Thursday morning.
Bashir came to power in 1989 after a he led a military coup, protests that started on December 16 sparked by an increase in bread and fuel prices quickly turned into a popular uprising.
Starting April 7, protesters have been camped outside the military headquarters in Sudan’s capital Khartoum calling on the army’s assistance in removing President Bashir.
In his coup announcement Ibn Auf, the country’s vice president and defence minister also declared a 3-month state of emergency, the suspension of the 2005 constitution, closure of Sudan’s airspace for 24-hours and of border crossings until further notice.
All of Sudan’s government’s institutions, including the national assembly and national council of ministers, have been dissolved, Ibn Auf added, assuring that Sudan would soon prepare for “free and fair” elections.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which has been spearheading the mass protests, rejected Ibn Auf’s move as a “military coup” and vowed to hold further demonstrations.
A video showing Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir and members of his cabinet being transported to prison in 2019
