Omar al- Bashir, Sudanese President for 30 years until Wednesday , has been arrested , Defence Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf has confirmed.
Addressing the Sudanese people on Thursday afternoon, Ibn Auf said al- Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court ( CC ), had been “taken into custody in a safe place ”.
He also announced a state of emergency for three months and a transitional period of two years , as well as a national ceasefire and the immediate release of all political prisoners .
“Despite all the suffering , despite all the lies, despite all the false promises, the Sudanese were patient , the Sudanese were tolerant , the Sudanese were generous ,” he said .
Ibn Auf also praised the youth of Sudan for “taking to the streets in a very peaceful way ”.
The demonstrations started in late December by university students angered by the tripling of the cost of bread .
When the ATMs ran out of cash shortly after, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) an umbrella group of doctors , lawyers and other activists , redirected the protests to call for the end of al -Bashir’ s reign . The movement has since spread to nearly every state in Sudan , making it the biggest ever resistance effort against the government since al- Bashir became President in 1989.
As the number of protesters multiplied , state - led security forces cracked down on the civilians, firing tear gas during rallies , beating demonstrators in the streets, arresting them indiscriminately , and sometimes killing them . More than 65 people have died since the protests began .
While al - Bashir’ s ouster continues to be celebrated , Sudanese activists have rejected Ibn Auf’ s announcement of a two- year military council to oversee a transition of power . Instead , the activists are demanding the handover of power to a civilian government .
“This is a game on the Sudanese people , the street refuses totally the announcement by Ibn Auf ,” activist Omar Al - Neel said following the Defence Minister’ s televised address to the nation. “All of the Sudanese people are in the street and demanding the downfall of all the regime and not recycling the same people . ”
The SPA has called on citizens across the capital and regions around the country to converge on the army headquarters for more protests .
“The regime has conducted a military coup to reproduce the same faces and entities that our great people have revolted against , ” the SPA said in a statement .
A former military commander, al- Bashir came into power after leading a bloodless coup in 1989. The ICC charged the 75 - year - old in 2009 and 2010 with crimes against humanity , war crimes, and genocide in Darfur , where between 200, 000 and 300,000 people were killed and at least 2. 7 million others were displaced.
Despite the international travel ban stemming from his arrest warrant, al - Bashir has made diplomatic trips to South Africa, Egypt , and Saudi Arabia.
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