Sudan prosecutor general sacked as new protests held
Written by Millennium on June 21, 2019
Hundreds of Sudanese continue with protests, demanding ruling military council to cede power to civilians.
Sudan‘s Transitional Military Council (TMC) has sacked the country’s prosecutor general, days after charges of corruption were brought against overthrown President Omar al-Bashir as new protests got under way.
The official SUNA news agency reported on Thursday that Abdullah Ahmed would replace Alwaleed Sayed Ahmed as prosecutor general, but did not give any reason for the sacking.
Abdullah had recently been appointed prosecutor for Khartoum, a role in which he was overseeing an investigation into the June 3 bloody raid on a protest camp in the capital that killed scores of pro-democracy demonstrators.
Al-Bashir, on Sunday, appeared in front of another prosecutor to face charges of corruption and illegal possession of foreign currency.
Thursday’s announcement comes weeks after protesters were violently dispersed on June 3 by men in military uniforms who, according to witnesses, shot and beat demonstrators who had taken part in the weeks-long sit-in outside the military headquarters.
The TMC has steadfastly denied it had ordered the dispersal, but said it had ordered a purge of a nearby area notorious for “criminals” selling drugs.
The council has said that the purge of the area, known as Colombia, was carried out only after a meeting of legal and security chiefs, which was attended by Alwaleed.
Last week, he told reporters he had attended the meeting but had left by the time the purge operation was discussed, saying: “In our presence, the dispersal of the sit-in was not even remotely discussed.”
