The head of Sudan's provisional military political council has said that the army has "no ambition to hold the reins of power", and stressed that "we are ready to step down as early as a month if a government is formed".
Addressing a news conference in the capital, Khartoum, Omar Zein Abideen promised on Friday that the new transitional government will be run by civilians.
Organisers of the months-long demonstrations that triggered the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday urged pro-democracy supporters to protest against a military takeover.
The appeal by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) came as tens of thousands of protesters defied a nighttime curfew announced earlier in the day by General Awad Ibn Auf, who was sworn in as the head of a military council that replaced Bashir.
In a Twitter post, the SPA called on protesters to "gather now" and continue a days-long sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.
"Stay put and guard your revolution," it added.
Defending the military takeover, Abideen said that it intervened to enforce "order and secuirty". He stressed that the military acted to meet the demands of the people.
"We are the protectors of the demands of the people and that is by consensus from the political entities," Abideen said.
His remarks came after Sudan's opposition groups spearheading the months-long protests had called for people to rally after Friday prayers in front of the army's headquarters.
Abideen warned that the army will have "zero tolerance against any violation, and any misdeed to take place in any corner of the country.
"We are here to provide an opportunity for the people of Sudan to achieve the change they have been aspiring to attain and to devise their own vision for the leadership," he said.
Protests broke out in December over steep hike in bread prices and and a deteriorating economic situation in the country.
The latest round of protests began on Saturday, when thousands of protesters camped in front of the defence ministry building demanding Bashir's ouster.
At least 35 people have been killed in clashes with security forces in the past six days, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said. It added that at least 13 people were killed when security forces intervened in Thursday's protests.
Al Jazeera's Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, siad people have been marching towards the army headquarters despite the military council's pledge to create a "healthy atmosphere" for people to converse and engage in a peacefull manner.
"At the moment, these remarks do not seem to be enough," Morgan said.
"Their [protestors] whole point is that they don't want anybody from the old regime or the former ruling party to be a part of the transitional council," she said.
"They are part of the old regime - so for the people who are on the streets, and for the thousands who have been staging a sit-in near the army HQ for the past week - it's more of the same thing," she added.
Shortly after Abideen's remarks, the SPA said in a statement that it "vehemently rejects" the outcome of Abideen's press conference and vowed to resist the state of emergency and the curfew imposed by the military.
"This is a rejection based on the experience of the Sudanese people in dealing with deception especially from the current regime," the statement read.
"The regime failed in creating a narrative that would weaken the protest movement and shake our unity … What happened was that the masks merely changed, it is the same regime that the people revolted against, seeking to remove it from its roots," it continued.
"Our demands are clear, fair and legitimate," the SPA said, referring to their demand for power to be immediately transferred to a civilian government.
"We are still in the path of true revolution … our martyrs have shed their blood in pursuit for freedom and justice."
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Sudan protests explained |
The head of Sudan's provisional military political council has said that the army has "no ambition to hold the reins of power", and stressed that "we are ready to step down as early as a month if a government is formed".
Addressing a news conference in the capital, Khartoum, Omar Zein Abideen promised on Friday that the new transitional government will be run by civilians.
Organisers of the months-long demonstrations that triggered the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday urged pro-democracy supporters to protest against a military takeover.
The appeal by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) came as tens of thousands of protesters defied a nighttime curfew announced earlier in the day by General Awad Ibn Auf, who was sworn in as the head of a military council that replaced Bashir.
In a Twitter post, the SPA called on protesters to "gather now" and continue a days-long sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.
"Stay put and guard your revolution," it added. "To comply with the curfew is to recognise the clone rescue government."
Abideen noted that the people who have been "protesting and staging sit-ins" would be the ones to devise solutions to the country's political, economic and social issues.
On Bashir's removal, he stressed that the military acted to meet the demands of the people and called for "civilised and peaceful dialogue".
"The committee plans to begin dialogue with political groups later. We are the protectors of the demands of the people and that is by consensus from the political entities," Abideen said.
His remarks came after Sudan's opposition groups spearheading the months-long protests had called for people to rally after Friday prayers in front of the army's headquarters.
Abideen warned that the army will have "zero tolerance against any violation, and any misdeed to take place in any corner of the country", as he highlighted the army's role in maintaining "public order, "security and stability" during this transitional time.
"We are here to provide an opportunity for the people of Sudan to achieve the change they have been aspiring to attain and to devise their own vision for the leadership," he said.
Protests broke out in December over steep hike in bread prices and and a deteriorating economic situation in the country.
Since Saturday, thousands of protesters had camped in front of the defence ministry building to demand Bashir's ouster.
At least 35 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, which have repeatedly tried to disperse the sit-in by force, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said.
It said that at least 13 people were killed when security forces intervened in Thursday's protests.
Al Jazeera's Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, siad people have been marching towards the army headquarters despite the military council's pledge to create a "healthy atmosphere" for people to converse and engage in a peacefull manner.
"At the moment, these remarks do not seem to be enough," Morgan said.
"Their [protestors] whole point is that they don't want anybody from the old regime or the former ruling party to be a part of the transitional council," she said.
"They are part of the old regime - so for the people who are on the streets, and for the thousands who have been staging a sit-in near the army HQ for the past week - it's more of the same thing," she added.
Shortly after Abideen's remarks, the SPA said in a statement that it "vehemently rejects" the outcome of Abideen's press conference and vowed to resist the state of emergency and the curfew imposed by the military.
"This is a rejection based on the experience of the Sudanese people in dealing with deception especially from the current regime," the statement read.
"The regime failed in creating a narrative that would weaken the protest movement and shake our unity … What happened was that the masks merely changed, it is the same regime that the people revolted against, seeking to remove it from its roots," it continued.
"Our demands are clear, fair and legitimate," the SPA said, referring to their demand for power to be immediately transferred to a civilian government.
"We are still in the path of true revolution … our martyrs have shed their blood in pursuit for freedom and justice."
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Sudan protests explained |
Sudan's military leaders have sought to reassure people protesting against the coup that their only concern is public order, as a stand-off continues.
A member of the new military council, Lt-Gen Omar Zain al-Abidin, said it was for the protesters to decide Sudan's political and economic future.
However, demonstrators fear the coup leaders are too close to deposed President Omar al-Bashir.
The military says it will not extradite him on war crimes charges.
However, he may be put on trial inside Sudan, according to the military council.
Mr Bashir, one of the world's longest-serving leaders until he was ousted on Thursday, is now in custody.
His downfall followed months of unrest which began in December over Sudan's rising cost of living. At least 38 people have died in the protests.
Mr Bashir is the subject of two international arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which accuses him of organising war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's Darfur region between 2003 and 2008.
The army has said it will oversee a two-year transitional period followed by elections. As part of this it is imposing a three-month state of emergency, with the constitution suspended.
Lt-Gen Abidin, who heads the military council's political committee, said on Friday: "The solutions will be devised by those in protest.
"You, the people, will provide the solutions for all economic and political issues. We have come with no ideology, we have come here to maintain order and security to provide the opportunity for the people of Sudan to achieve the change they aspire to.
"We have no ambition to hold the reins of power. We are here to provide an all-inclusive umbrella.
"Our key responsibility is to maintain public order," he added. "We will have zero tolerance for any misdeed in any corner of the country."
Thousands remained camped out near military headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, on Friday, ignoring a curfew declared by the military.
The new military council is headed by Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf who was previously regarded as being well placed to succeed Mr Bashir.
During the Darfur conflict, he was head of military intelligence and the US imposed sanctions on him in 2007 in relation to his alleged support for militia blamed for atrocities there.
Sara Abdeljalil, a member of the Sudanese Professionals' Association (SPA) which has spearheaded the protests, said on Thursday that the new military council was a "continuation of the same regime".
"So what we need to do is to continue the fight and the peaceful resistance," she said.
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Reacting to the military's conciliatory statement on Friday, Khartoum resident Tagreed Abdin told the BBC she was not reassured.
"First of all we don't know who's behind the military council," she said.
"We are used to hearing government double-speak but we need to see if they're really interested in dialogue and listening to the voices of the people."
Early on Thursday, military vehicles entered the large compound in Khartoum housing the defence ministry, the army headquarters and Mr Bashir's personal residence.
State TV and radio interrupted programming and Mr Ibn Auf announced "the toppling of the regime". He said Mr Bashir was being held "in a secure place" but did not give details.
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Mr Ibn Auf said the country had been suffering from "poor management, corruption, and an absence of justice" and he apologised "for the killing and violence that took place".
UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for "calm and utmost restraint by all" and urged a transition that would meet the "democratic aspirations" of the people. The UN Security Council is to discuss the situation in a closed-door meeting on Friday.
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that a two-year military council was "not the answer" and called for a "swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership".
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The African Union condemned the military takeover, saying it was not an appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people.
Russia, which twice hosted Mr Bashir despite the international travel ban he faced, called for calm.
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The head of Sudan's provisional military political council has said that the army has "no ambition to hold the reins of power", and stressed that "we are ready to step down as early as a month if a government is formed".
Addressing a news conference in the capital, Khartoum, Omar Zein Abideen said on Friday that the two-year transition period can be as short as one month if managed "without chaos" amid demands for a civilian-led government.
"We guarantee the new government will be run by the civilians without the military," he said.
Organisers of the months-long demonstrations that triggered the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday urged pro-democracy supporters to protest against a military takeover.
The appeal by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) came as tens of thousands of protesters defied a nighttime curfew announced earlier in the day by General Awad Ibn Auf, who was sworn in as the head of a military council that replaced Bashir.
In a Twitter post, the SPA called on protesters to "gather now" and continue a days-long sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.
"Stay put and guard your revolution," it added. "To comply with the curfew is to recognise the clone rescue government."
On Bashir's removal, Abideen said that the military acted to meet the demands of the people. He called for "civilised and peaceful dialogue" to address the economic and political issues facing the country.
"The committee plans to begin dialogue with political groups later. We are the protectors of the demands of the people and that is by consensus from the political entities," Abideen said.
His remarks came after Sudan's opposition groups spearheading the months-long protests had called for people to rally after Friday prayers.
Protests broke out in December over steep hike in bread prices and and a deteriorating economic situation in the country.
Since Saturday, thousands of protesters had camped in front of the defence ministry building to demand Bashir's ouster.
At least 35 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, which have repeatedly tried to disperse the sit-in by force, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said.
It said that at least 13 people were killed when security forces intervened in Thursday's protests.
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Sudan protests explained |
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By Associated Press
QUITO, Ecuador — The dramatic end to Julian Assange's asylum has sparked curiosity about his 7-year stay inside Ecuador's Embassy in London that was marked by his late-night skateboarding, the physical harassment of his caretakers and even the smearing of his own fecal matter on the walls of the diplomatic mission.
It would've tested the patience of any host. But for tiny Ecuador, which prides itself on its hospitality and spent almost $1 million a year protecting Assange, it was also seen as a national insult.
"We've ended the asylum of this spoiled brat," a visibly flustered President Lenin Moreno said Thursday in a fiery speech explaining his decision to withdraw protection of Assange and hand him over to British police. "From now on we'll be more careful in giving asylum to people who are really worth it, and not miserable hackers whose only goal is to destabilize governments."
Others, including former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, who granted Assange asylum in 2012, said that while Assange violated the terms of his asylum and was a burden on Ecuador "that's no excuse for throwing him to the lions."
Ecuador emerged as a haven for the WikiLeaks founder in 2012 as his legal options to evade extradition to Sweden over sex crime accusations dried up in the United Kingdom. On a June day, he moved into the country's embassy near the upscale Harrods department store for what most thought would be a short stay.
Instead, the cramped quarters, where a small office was converted into a bedroom, became a permanent address that some likened to a de facto jail.
As the asylum dragged on, his relations with his hosts soured and his behavior became more erratic. Embassy staff complained of him skateboarding at night, playing loud music and walking around in his underwear with no apparent concern for others in the tiny embassy.
One senior Ecuadorian official described his room as a "sovereign territory within a sovereign territory" that none of the staff at No. 3 Hans Crescent could enter. But the stench from going weeks without a shower, and dental problem born of poor hygiene, was a constant nuisance, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he isn't authorized to discuss details of Assange's behavior.
Then there was the issue of Assange's poop, which authorities said he spread across embassy walls on at least one occasion in an act of open defiance showing how little he thought of his hosts.
"When you're given shelter, cared for and provided food, you don't denounce the owner of the house," Moreno said Thursday to applause.
Within months of taking office in 2017, Moreno's government scolded Assange again for meddling in international affairs by voicing his support for Catalan secessionists from the Ecuadorian Embassy.
Relations grew so prickly that last year Ecuador increased its restrictions on his Internet access and required him to clean up after his cat James. The rules said that if the feline wasn't properly fed and cleaned up after, it would be sent to the pound.
Assange tried challenging the restrictions in Ecuadorian court, to no avail.
More recently, as the feuding became more public, he started physically and verbally harassing his caretakers, accusing them of being U.S. spies looking to exchange information on WikiLeaks in exchange for debt relief for Ecuador.
Foreign Minister Jose Valencia said in an audio recording a few months ago captured a moment when Assange threatened Ambassador Jaime Merchan with pressing something of a panic button that he said would bring devastating consequences for the Embassy in the event of his arrest. Although it wasn't clear what he meant by the threat, authorities shared their concerns with British authorities and in carrying out the raid Thursday were careful to prevent Assange from returning to his room to execute any possible emergency plans.
The final straw for Moreno was WikiLeaks' decision to spread information about a purported offshore account controlled by the president's brother. Personal photographs of Moreno lying in bed, as well as images of close family members dancing, were also leaked, further incensing him.
