Sudan’s military agrees to reinstate ousted PM

Cairo, Nov 21 (AP):
A deal was reached between Sudan’s military and civilian leaders to reinstate Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was deposed in a coup last month, military and government officials said Sunday.
The officials also said that government officials and politicians arrested since the Oct 25 coup will be released as part of the deal between the military and political parties, including the largest Umma Party.
Hamdok will lead an independent technocratic Cabinet, the officials said. They said the UN, the US and others played ‘crucial roles’ in crafting the agreement. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal before the official announcement.
The coup, more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government, has drawn international criticism. The United States, its allies and the United Nations have condemned the use of excessive force against anti-coup protesters.
Sudanese have been taking to the streets in masses since the military takeover, which upended the country’s fragile transition to democracy. The agreement comes just days after doctors said at least 15 people were killed by live fire during anti-coup demonstrations.
The military has tightened its grip on power, appointing a new, military-run Sovereign Council. The council is chaired by coup leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.
The Sovereign Council will meet later Sunday before announcing the deal, the officials said.
A national initiative formed after the coup that includes political parties and public figures said in a statement that Hamdok would be reinstated and will form a technocratic Cabinet. It said the deal would be signed later Sunday along with a political declaration. It did not elaborate.
Mohmmed Youssef al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, said there is a deal but the SPA would comment when it is announced officially.
The group called on people to take to the streets Sunday to reiterate their demands for civilian democratic rule and denounce any partnership with the military.
Mediators said the deal was reached following an agreement among political factions, ex-rebel groups, and military figures. Sunday’s deal announcement came as pro-democracy activists geared up for mass protests to denounce the coup and the ensuing deadly crackdown that have left at least 40 people killed, according to medics. Wednesday was the deadliest day with 16 people killed.
The protest calls were also led by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions that were instrumental to the mass protests that led to the ousting of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
Police officials deny using any live ammunition and insist they have used “minimum force” to disperse the protests. They have recorded only one death, among demonstrators in North Khartoum.
Sudan, which is mired in a dire economic crisis, has a long history of military coups, enjoying only rare interludes of democratic rule since independence in 1956.