Sudan coup leader resigns, protesters celebrate 'triumph'

Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf, the military chief who led the action that ousted long-serving Omar al-Bashir has resigned his position.

The move comes barely 48-hours after the military high command announced taking power from Bashir. Reports indicate that the capital, Khartoum, erupted with the resignation.

Awad had only in February this year been named defense minister in what is now Bashir’s last cabinet reshuffle. He was due to lead the two-year transitional council.

Lieutenant General Abdel-Fatah al-Burhan Abdel-Rahman as his replacement. The new leader has previously served as ousted Bashir’s Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces.

Meanwhile, the Turkish news agency, Anadolu, is reporting that the military council has sought the support of Arab ambassadors amid foreign pressures due to the crisis.

On Bashir’s status, it is now clear that he is under arrest but the military hierarchy has dismissed categorically any move to extradite him to face international criminal charges at The Hague.

BREAKING: Defacto head of Sudan’s ruling, transitional military council Awad Ibn Auf resigns and appoints Lieutenant General Abdel-Fatah al-Burhan Abdel-Rahman as his replacement.

He was formerly Bashir’s Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces.

— Yousra Elbagir (@YousraElbagir) April 12, 2019