Sudan’s military council calls snap elections after protesters killed
Sudan’s ruling military council has cancelled all previous agreements with opposition groups and called for snap elections after security forces killed at least 35 people on Monday.
The Transitional Military Council (TMC) was engaged in negotiations with protest leaders over forming a transitional government until talks broke down last week. Now, army leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says the country will hold presidential elections within the next nine months.
All agreements cancelled, snap elections called
“The military council decides to stop negotiating with the Alliance for Freedom and Change and cancel what had been agreed on and to hold general elections within nine months,” Burhan said in a statement broadcast on state television in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The statement comes after security forces stormed a sit-in protest outside of the military headquarters, killing at least 35 people and injuring hundreds more, according to a doctors’ association.
The military council had previously agreed to a three-year transitional period for establishing a civilian government. However, the council now says all previous agreements are cancelled and a snap election will be held under “regional and international supervision” to choose Sudan’s next leader.
The United Nations, African Union and various members of the international community have condemned the violence that took place in the Sudanese capital on Monday. The UN Security Council has confirmed it will meet behind closed doors on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Sudan.
Featured image: By M.Saleh – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77879589
