Sudan appoints chairman of new transitional council

By Omer Erdem

KHARTOUM (AA) - Sudan's Defense Minister Awad ibn Auf was sworn in Thursday as chairman of the new Military Transitional Council following the overthrow of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Ibn Auf took the constitutional oath in the capital Khartoum in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Abdul Majid Idris which was broadcast live on state television.

Kamal Abdul-Marouf Al-Mahi, chairman of the Joint Staff Command, was sworn in as deputy chairman of the council.

The Sudanese military earlier Thursday announced the removal of al-Bashir, who had ruled Sudan since 1989, and the imposition of a two-year "transitional phase" following mass demonstrations calling for the president to step down.

Ibn Auf also announced in a televised statement the imposition of a one-month curfew -- to take effect Thursday evening -- along with a three-month nationwide state of emergency.

He further announced the suspension of Sudan’s 2005 Constitution and the dissolution of the Sudanese presidency, parliament and council of ministers.

He said a military council would be drawn up to run the country’s affairs during the post-Bashir interim phase.

Sudanese opposition parties and professional associations voiced “total rejection” of what they described as a "military coup".

Al-Bashir came to power on the back of a 1989 military coup against the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev