Sudan’s longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir appeared to have been removed as president on Thursday following months of on-and-off popular protests that culminated in clashes between his loyalist security branches and the uniformed armed forces.
During a tense dramatic morning that saw the country’s state broadcaster seized by the military and protesters mass in front of the armed forces headquarters, Mr Bashir’s position remained unclear. The army alerted the public in a 5am statement that warned of an impending announcement.
Reports emerged that the airport in Khartoum had been seized, Mr Bashir and other senior officials had been arrested, and that a transitional council headed by defence minister, Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf had been formed, according to sources cited by Dubai-based Al-Arabiya.
Doha-based Al Jazeera reported that armed forces informed Mr Bashir “he was no longer president”
None of the reports could be confirmed. For hours state television played patriotic and martial music as the nation of 41 million people waited and thousands amassed at the main protest site outside the military headquarters in Khartoum.
Mr Bashir has ruled Sudan for 30 years, taking power in a 1989 coup.
He is wanted on international charges of genocide for his role in directing violence against non-Arab minorities in Sudan’s Darfur region.