Sudan: Omar al-Bashir overthrown, defence minister takes over

FILES-SUDAN-POLITICS-BASHIR [File] Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir (R) is seated alongside his first vice president Lieutenant General Awad Mohamed Ahmed ibn Auf (L) | AFP

Thursday night, Sundanese President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for 30 years was overthrown by a military coup. As a military council dissolved the government, suspended the constitution and the news reverberated around the world, Sudanese Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf was sworn in as head of the country's transitional council.

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini in the meantime has urged Sudan's army to quickly handover power to a civilian government, noting the determination of the Sudanese people for change. The military also declared a three-month state of emergency in the country.

"Only a credible and inclusive political process can meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people and lead to the political and economic reforms the country needs," Mogherini said in a statement on Thursday.

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"That can only be achieved through a swift handover to a civilian transitional government," she added, hours after veteran president Omar al-Bashir was ousted from office.

The African Union said that they will strongly condemn any unconstitutional change in government in Sudan. The crown gathered at Khartoum were chanting that they wanted to topple Ibn Auf.

"A military council does not provide the answers and breaches the principles" of the Ethiopia-based union's charter, added Mogherini speaking on behalf of EU's 28 member states.

Sudanese people have been protesting since December last year in a bid to topple near-dictator rule of Omar al-Bashir under whose regime they suffered inflation and deterioration of economic conditions.  

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