Sudanese PM to return to government

Sudanese PM to return to government

KHARTOUM: Sudan’s top military leader and the prime minister he ousted almost a month ago have reached a deal for the premier’s return to government and the release of civilian leaders, mediators said yesterday. But while Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was liberated from weeks of effective house arrest, thousands of protesters again rallied in several cities as security forces in the capital fired teargas at demonstrators.

General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on October 25 declared a state of emergency and ousted the government in a move that upended a two-year transition to civilian rule and sparked international condemnation. The power grab triggered a wave of mass street protests in which 40 demonstrators have been killed, according to medical sources. But after weeks of intense internal and international pressure, mediators yesterday announced that the military had reached an agreement to reinstate Hamdok as premier.

“A political agreement has been reached between General Burhan, Abdalla Hamdok, political forces and civil society organizations for Hamdok’s return to his position, and the release of political detainees,” senior Sudanese mediator Fadlallah Burma, acting head of the Umma party said. The developments have raised hopes the strife-torn northeast African country will be able to return to its fragile transition