Sudanese demonstrators arrive outside the Defence Ministry in Khartoum to protest against the army's announcement that President Omar al-Bashir would be replaced by a military-led transitional council.

AFRICA

Sudan’s civil society calls for strong AU response to the coup in Khartoum

There is growing scepticism in Sudan with an army coup that ousted Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan. Protesters defied an army curfew Thursday night and now want a civilian-led transitional government.

English Africa Service – Vatican City

Militatry Coup not appropriate response to people’s demands

A consortium of Sudan’s civil society is now calling on the African Union to take a stronger stand against the new military leaders who have declared a two-year transition period. Members of the civil society -The Sudan Consortium African and International Civil Society Action for Sudan acting together with an organisation known as the Civil Forces Assembly- encouraged by the African Union’s condemnation of the military takeover want the AU to do more. AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has been quoted by various media as saying the military take-over in Khartoum was not an appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of the people.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Ibn Auf has been a close ally of Bashir

Observers close to the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which has led the protests together with other civil society groups are probably right to be sceptical of the new ruler’s intentions. Defence minister and vice president, Lieutenant General Ahmed Ibn Auf, is the new head of the transitional military council. He is however known to be one of Bashir’s most loyal confidantes and a member of the Bashir inner circle since 1989.

AU has invested in the peace of Sudan

Civil society’s letter to the AU, seen by Vatican News, wants the African Union to intervene as anticipated by the Constitutive Act and the Peace and Security Protocol. Civil society in Sudan says the AU cannot “afford to allow the gains made by the courage of Sudan's people to be laid waste in the scramble for power by a few individuals. The AU has heavily invested in peace and security in Sudan, and must now stand up for the rights of the men, women and children of Sudan,” reads the letter.

Observers in Khartoum say that protesters fearful of being robbed of their revolution have decided to come back to the streets with the slogan: “The regime has not yet fallen.”

It remains to be seen how the demonstrations will unfold, this time around. Nevertheless, organisers have the numbers on their side, and the discontent that led to the protests against Bashir is still there and is widespread.

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