Sudan’s public prosecutor on Thursday ordered for the interrogation of ousted President Omar al-Bashir on charges of money laundering and financing terrorism, reported Reuters.
The military removed Bashir on April 11 after months of mass protests against his 30-year rule. Notably, Bashir is also wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes over the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region. He was replaced by a military transitional council that promised to relinquish power to civilians within two years, but the protesters rejected the proposal demanding immediate handover to civilian rule.
The people of Sudan still continue a sit-in outside Sudan’s defense ministry in the capital Khartoum to demand the army handover to civilian rule. The military council has been holding talks with the protest group but the two sides have not been able to get a solution.
During a recent interview with BBC, a top official in Sudan’s military council said the council will not allow civilians a majority in the proposed council with the Alliance for Freedom and Change, who led the protests that led to the ouster of ex-president Omar al-Bashir, set to rule the country during a transitional period.
The army chief Lt Gen Salah Abdelkhalek said they might consider an equal share of the membership as an option.
“[It’s] a red line, maybe half and half,” Lt Gen Abdelkhalek told BBC about the military council’s likely compromise.
The protest leaders are accusing the military of not negotiating in good faith and promoting the interests of Mr. Bashir, while the military leaders say that they need to be in charge to ensure order and security in the country.
The African Union recently revised its 15-day ultimatum set on 15 April for the military leaders to hand over power to civilian rule. It warned Sudan’s ruling military council to hand over power to civilian authority in the next 60 days or face suspension.
