Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) has reportedly sacked Alwaleed Sayed Ahmed Mahmoud as the country’s prosecutor general. The decision was taken days after charges of corruption were brought against overthrown President Omar al-Bashir.
According to a report coming from the official SUNA news agency, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah would replace Ahmed, reported Reuters. The report, however, did not give any reason for the sacking.
Alwaleed’s exit comes as authorities investigate the dispersal of a sit-in camp outside the Defence Ministry in Khartoum that killed dozens on June 3. The crackdown left more than 100 people dead, according to opposition sources. But the TMC has put the death toll at 35.
The TMC has denied it had ordered the dispersal but said it had ordered a purge of a nearby area notorious for criminals selling drugs.
During an interview with France 24, Sudan’s veteran opposition leader Sadiq al-Mahdi called for an independent probe into the deadly crackdown on protesters. He said the need of the hour is to make a non-partisan government of experts to take Sudan out of the crisis.
“The military council has already made several contradictory declarations and therefore we all need to have an investigation that will be trusted by all because the death toll and the bloodbath that took place will not be accepted without an investigation that is trustworthy,” Mahdi said.
Talks between the protest leaders and generals collapsed after the deadly dispersal of the protest sit-in. The two sides are yet to reach an agreement over who should head a new governing body, a civilian or a member of the military.
Hundreds of Sudanese took to streets in state capitals on Thursday, to put pressure on the TMC to cede power to civilians in ongoing tumult.
On Wednesday, TMC head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan called on protest leaders to resume talks without any conditions.
