Sudanese general tightens grip on power, 2 weeks after coup
Source: AP
By FAY ABUELGASIM and NOHA ELHENNAWY
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Sudan’s top general reappointed himself as head of the army-run interim governing body on Thursday, a sign that he’s tightening his grip on the country two weeks after he led a coup against civilian leaders.
The move by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan — along with other appointments he announced for the Sovereign Council — was expected to anger Sudan’s pro-democracy protest movement, sidelined in the coup. Since the Oct. 25 takeover, pro-democracy leaders have demanded the military relinquish power and refuse to be part of any administration in which a military maintains a role.
Thursday’s development, announced in a bulletin by Sudan’s state television, comes amid repeated promises from the military that they will hand over power to civilian authorities. Since the coup, more than 100 government officials and political leaders have been detained, along with a large number of protesters and activists. Almost all remain in custody.
At least 14 anti-coup protesters have been killed due to excessive force used by the country’s security forces, according to Sudanese doctors and the United Nations.
FILE - Sudan's head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, speaks during a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. The U.N.’s top human rights body is holding an urgent session about Sudan on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, after a military coup there nearly two weeks ago, with Britain, the United States, Germany and Norway leading a push to commission an expert to monitor the situation. The push for a human rights expert comes amid mounting pressure on Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the forces loyal to him who dissolved Sudan’s transitional government and detained other government officials and political leaders in the Oct. 25 coup. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali, file)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-omar-al-bashir-middle-east-africa-sudan-521ade73af3ab7974bcdb65e76fe75ec
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