Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, on Monday, said he has the authority to form an independent government as part of the agreement signed with the military to restore the country’s transition to civilian rule, reported Africa News.
The deal was signed on Sunday almost one month after the military staged a coup and placed him under house arrest. General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan declared a state of emergency and ousted the Hamdok government, in a move that upended a two-year transition to civilian rule. The move sparked a wave of mass street protests and clashes with security forces.
As part of the deal, the Sudanese military chief Al-Burhan rescinded his decision to dismiss Hamdok as prime minister. He has been re-elected as prime minister with the Sovereignty Council in Sudan.
During the signing of the agreement with the military, Hamdok said that his main goal was to stop the ongoing bloodshed of the country’s youth.
According to Sudanese medical sources, at least 41 people have lost their lives in protests that began after the October coup.
Sudan’s leading political opposition parties have, however, rejected the deal with the military.
Meanwhile, the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged Sudan’s leaders to work rapidly to put the country’s democratic transition back on track. He made the appeal in separate phone calls with Sudan’s reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Blinken said that the country needs to make more progress on democracy before the US government resumes $700 million in suspended aid. Washington had suspended the aid when Burhan ousted Hamdok and later appointed new members to the ruling council.
The US States Department spokesperson, Ned Price, said the decision on the resumption of assistance will depend entirely on the course of action of the Sudanese leaders in the coming weeks and months.
