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The Sudanese Sudanese military minister resigned abruptly on Friday at the head of the ruling military council after a day in power, as protesters demanded more political change after the military overthrown President Omar al-Bashir.
Hours after the military council attempted to calm public anger by promising a new civilian government, Defense Minister Awad Ibn Auf said in a televised speech that he was stepping down as head of the council. .
Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Abdelrahman, will be the new chairman of the board, said Ibn Auf. He also said that the chief of staff, Kamal Abdelmarouf al-Mahi, had been removed from his post as deputy head of the transitional military council.
"In order to ensure the cohesion of the security system, and the armed forces in particular, cracks and conflicts and building on God, let us start this path of change," said Ibn Auf.
The news of the change triggered happy celebrations in the streets of Khartoum as people chanted, "The second has fallen!" In reference to Bashir, witnesses said.
"What happened is a step in the right direction and a sign of the will of the mbades. We are now closer to victory, "said Rashid Saeed, spokesman for the main protest group, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), Reuters.
"We are committed to the demands we have submitted to the army," he said. "We call on the mbades to stay on the streets until all demands are met."
The military council said earlier that it was expecting a pre-election transition of up to two years at most, if not much less, if chaos could be avoided. The chairman of the political committee of the military council, Omar Zain al-Abideen, said the council would hold a dialogue with the political entities.
The announcement of a future civilian government seemed to rebadure protesters who had been demanding for months Bashir's departure and to quickly resume protests against the army regime after his ouster Thursday, calling for faster and more substantial changes .
To clearly challenge the military council of Ibn Auf, several thousand protesters remained in front of the Ministry of Defense and in other parts of the capital, while the night curfew had announced its entry into force.
The SPA said the military council was "not able to create a change". In a statement, the group reaffirmed its demand for the immediate transfer of power to "a civilian transitional government".
Bashir, 75, himself seized power during a military coup in 1989. He had faced 16 weeks of protests provoked by rising food prices, the high unemployment rate and increasing repression during its three decades of autocratic rule.
Faithful people invaded the streets around the Ministry of Defense for Friday prayers, hearing an appeal from the SPA to challenge the military council. The figures grew in the afternoon and a Reuters witness estimated that hundreds of thousands of protesters had gathered around the ministry, guarded by soldiers.
At least 16 people were killed and 20 injured by stray bullets during protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, a spokesman for the Sudanese police said in a statement released on Saturday.
Government buildings and private property were also attacked, said spokesman Hashem Ali.
He asked citizens to contribute to security and public order.
"We do not reject a military council in principle, but we reject these people because they belong to the Bashir regime," said Abdelhamid Ahmed, a 24-year-old doctor.
Ibn Auf was the Vice President of Bashir and Minister of Defense. He is one of the few Sudanese commanders to whom Washington has imposed sanctions for their alleged role in the atrocities committed during the Darfur conflict that began in 2003.
Announcing the ouster of Bashir on Thursday and the establishment of the military council, Ibn Auf also announced the state of emergency, a national ceasefire and the suspension of the constitution, as well as the covers night fire from 22h. at 4 o'clock in the morning. These measures have been criticized as too brutal by rights groups.
Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman was the third highest general of the Sudanese Armed Forces and is not known in public life. He was the chief of the Sudanese land forces, in which role he oversaw the Sudanese troops who fought in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
Sudan's deputy ambbadador, Ybader Abdallah Abdelsalam Ahmed, told the US Security Council on Friday that any democratic process in the country needs time, and he urged the international community to support a peaceful transition.
"No party will be excluded from the political process, including armed groups," he told the council at a meeting in Abyei, a disputed border region claimed by Sudan and South Sudan. The 15-member council met later Friday in camera to keep abad of the latest developments in Sudan.
"In addition, the suspension of the constitution could be lifted at any time and the transition period could be shortened according to the evolution of the situation on the ground and the agreements reached between the stakeholders", said the Sent Sudanese.
World powers, including the United States and Britain, have declared that they support a peaceful and democratic transition sooner than two years. China said it will continue to seek cooperation with Sudan regardless of the political situation.
Zain al-Abideen said the military council would not interfere with a civilian government. However, he said the ministries of defense and the interior would be under his control.
Burhan, the new head of the transitional military council, was the Inspector General of the Sudanese Armed Forces and his third general. He is little known in public life.
He was the chief of the Sudanese land forces, in which role he oversaw the Sudanese troops who fought in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. He has close relations with senior Gulf military officials, as he was responsible for coordinating Sudan's military involvement in the war.
Zain al-Abideen said that the military council itself had no solutions to the Sudan crisis and that these would come from the protesters.
"We are not hungry for power," he said. "We will not dictate to the people. We want to create an atmosphere conducive to peaceful dialogue.
He said the council was scheduled to meet with the political entities on Friday to prepare a "climate of dialogue", but this has been postponed to a later date.
The council said that he had not invited the Bashir National Congress party to join the dialogue because "he is responsible for what happened". He warned the protesters that the army would not tolerate the unrest.
Ibn Auf said Thursday that Bashir was being held in a "safe place". Sudanese sources told Reuters that he was at the presidential residence under heavy guard.
The council announced on Friday that he would not extradite Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Bashir is under arrest on charges of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, during an insurgency that began in 2003 and has left approximately 300,000 people dead. He denies the allegations.
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