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General Awad Ibn Phew was sworn in as head of the new political committee of the Sudanese Military Council, just hours after the Omar al-Bashir overthrow by the army. By ASHRAF SHAZLY (AFP)
Sudanese General Awad Ibn Ouf, who led the overthrow of veteran leader Omar al-Bashir and became the new leader of the country, is already under US sanction for his alleged role in the brutal conflict in Darfur. .
In a grim televised statement on Thursday, Ibn Phew announced the ouster of Bashir, who ruled the northeastern country of Africa with an iron fist for 30 years, before angry protesters did l & # 39; slaughter.
"I announce, as Defense Minister, the overthrow of the regime and the detention of its leader in a safe place," said Ibn Ouf.
"We replaced it with a transitional military council for two years and suspended the 2005 constitution of Sudan."
Later on Thursday, state television announced that Ibn Phew had been sworn in at the head of the military council, thereby angering the protesters.
"The regime has made a military coup by bringing back the same faces and the same institutions against which our people have stood," said the Alliance for Freedom and Change, which is leading the protests in a communicated.
"We call our people to continue their sit-in in front of the army headquarters, in all regions and in the streets."
Protesters remained camped at the army headquarters in the capital for the seventh consecutive day, promising not to leave before the departure of the new military leaders.
Career soldier
Born in 1950, professional soldier Ibn Ouf is a regime insider and close badociate of Bashir since the former head of power came to power in 1989.
A Sudanese boy holds a sign saying in Arabic "Do not steal our revolution" while the demonstrators pledge to maintain their demonstrations to ensure the constitution of a civilian government. – AFP Ibn Phew has held several senior positions in the army and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He first climbed the ladder to become commander of the Army Artillery Division, and then to head the Army Intelligence Wing.
In 2010, he retired, but was brought back five years later as the country's defense minister. In February, Bashir made him his first vice president
"Awad Ibn Phew is not only a senior officer of the old guard of Bashir, he is one of the few members of the army to be able to maintain the cohesion between the rival branches of the regime's security apparatus, "said a Sudanese badyst based in Paris, Sudan, Jerome Tubiana.
Between 2010 and 2015, Ibn Ouf served as an adviser at the Khartoum embbady in Cairo and then as an ambbadador in Muscat.
But it is his alleged role in the Darfur conflict that, badysts say, could deter Western powers from dealing directly with him.
According to badysts, Ibn Ouf, a close badociate of Bashir, played a key role in the management of Arab militias, like the feared Janjaweed, accused of perpetrating genocide in the first years of the war. conflict.
The United States has listed Sudanese officers sanctioned for their role in the conflict that has seen its badets blocked by the US Treasury since 2007.
In May 2007, Washington said Ibn Ouf had been "linked to violence, atrocities and human rights violations" in Darfur.
& # 39; Palace Revolution & # 39;
Bashir himself has been indicted for war crimes and genocide in the Darfur conflict, during which about 300,000 people were killed and millions of people displaced by the United Nations.
Hundreds of thousands of people still live in sprawling camps throughout the region.
The Sudanese People's Defense Force, a paramilitary group, has frequently fought alongside the Sudanese armed forces against ethnic minority rebels in Darfur. By ASHRAF SHAZLY (AFP) The conflict erupted in 2003 when ethnic black rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government, accusing it of economic and political marginalization.
Ibn Phew was as "deeply involved" in the conflict as Bashir himself, said Thursday Hollywood actor George Clooney.
"Removing the head of a violent and corrupt system without dismantling this system is inadequate," said Clooney, founder of The Sentry Project, which conducts research on illicit money and war crimes in Africa.
But badyst Tubiana said that the fact that Bashir agreed to leave and that Ibn Phew replaced it shows that it is "a palace revolution, aimed at protecting the regime and to prevent opposition, civilians and non-Islamists … to take power. "
Some badysts say, however, that Ibn Phew might not stay long at the head of the military council.
"It's been a long time since he made decisions regarding the armed forces, but the task ahead will not be easy," said one badyst.
"The anger of the protesters will be a constant challenge – whatever you know, it may not be there before long."
Protesters pledge to do exactly that.
"Ibn Phew is weak, we will make sure that he resigns," said a protester without revealing his name for security reasons, as he was preparing for Friday prayers at the compound of the day. ;army.
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