Two sources close to Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok told Reuters, on Tuesday, that Hamdok told a group of national figures and intellectuals who met with him that he intends to submit his resignation from his position.
The two sources added that the group called on Hamdok to reverse his decision, but he affirmed his insistence on taking this step in the coming hours.
Hamdok’s latest activities were the termination of Ibrahim Muhammad Ibrahim’s assignment as Director General of the Public Authority for Radio and Television, and the reappointment of Luqman Ahmed Muhammad as Director General of the Authority.
Hamdok agreement and proof
It is noteworthy that last November 21, Al-Burhan and Hamdok signed a political agreement that included the latter’s return to his position and the formation of a government of competencies, but political and civil forces expressed their rejection of the agreement, pledging to continue protests until full civilian rule is achieved.
This came after the military forces imposed, on October 25, exceptional measures, by which they dissolved the government and the former Sovereignty Council, suspended the constitutional document, and imposed a state of emergency.
And after the Sudanese Ministry of Health announced, on Sunday evening, that one person was killed and at least 123 others were injured, as a result of clashes with the security forces during the protests that began on Saturday, in refusal of the agreement between Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok and Chairman of the Transitional Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, tension escalated in the country.
From previous protests in Sudan
Sudan witnessed widespread protests, during which the demonstrators for the first time managed to breach the large security barriers around the presidential palace and others leading to it, amid the intervention of the security forces and the massive firing of bullets and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators, which necessitated the intervention of local organizations that issued condemnatory statements.
The Engineers Syndicate Initiative, one of the parties that called for the demonstration, confirmed that the protesters succeeded in reaching the palace despite the military arsenals and excessive violence, announcing a sit-in nearby, according to its statement.
In turn, the “resistance committees” that lead the popular movement called on the demonstrators to sit in front of the palace until power is handed over to civilians.
As for the forces of freedom and change, they called on all sectors of the people to participate in the peaceful demonstrations, and put forward a political declaration stressing the need for comprehensive political reforms during the transitional period ending with free and fair elections.
In the midst of these developments, the Transitional Council stressed that the armed forces will not neglect the security of Sudan, and Brigadier-General Taher Abu Haga, advisor to the Army Commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, confirmed that the armed forces are playing their role.
He added that it will remain aligned with the aspirations of the Sudanese people, as he put it.
He also considered that Sunday’s demonstrations in Sudan raised different slogans, confirming the difference in the agenda. He believed that the controversial and hostile tone conveyed by the protests might affect the transition in Sudan, he said.
For his part, Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok warned of what he considered “slipping into the abyss”, and he said in a speech he addressed to the Sudanese on the eve of the protests, that the country is facing a major regression in the revolution’s march, which threatens the country’s security, unity and stability and warns of the beginning of slipping into the abyss, according to his words .
It is noteworthy that hundreds of thousands of Sudanese gathered on Sunday, and headed to the presidential palace, after which they were able to open the bridges by force, after they were closed by the security forces.
Observers also described the rallies that covered most of the main streets in the triangular capital and a number of other cities, as “the largest since the outbreak of the Sudanese revolution on December 19, 2018, which led to the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir’s regime.
