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It appears the military in Sudan did not fully comprehend the memo and demands from the citizens when it was asked to come to their aid and ousted President Omar al-Bashir through a military coup last week.
While the protesters wanted the military to force out the president, they never requested to be ruled by the military.
So, just a few days after celebrating the victory of Omar al-Bashir removal from power, the protesters are back on the streets again demanding that the military immediately hand over power to a civilian government.
Yesterday, the transitional military council leader, Lieutenant General Abdel-Fattah Burhan during his first televised address announced that it would name a civilian prime minister and Cabinet to help run the country but would not name a civilian to the office of the president.
He said that the military will only hand over power to a civilian government after two years. Lieutenant General Abdel-Fattah also ordered the release of all prisoners jailed under emergency laws ordered by ousted president Omar al-Bashir.
In a twist of events, top military personnel in the country have resigned in the last week following the ousting of Al-Bashir. It appears that the top military chiefs who were loyal to Al-Bashir do not want anything to do with the new administration. Although there are calls in some quarters claiming that the new military government called for their resignation.
The Sudanese Intelligence Chief Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh resigned on Saturday. This came a day after the defense minister, Major General Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf quit following the military's overthrow of the president.
The military council issued a statement saying its leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, accepted the resignation of the defense minister and intelligence chief.
Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh led the feared National Intelligence and Security Service and oversaw the agency's brutal crackdown on protestors.
The military council has stood on its words that it would rule Sudan for two years until elections are held but this has not been accepted by the protesters who have said demonstrations would continue until a civilian transitional council is formed, fearing the military will rule indefinitely.
The former leader, al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide but the military council have said he will not be extradited.
Speaking on the issue, a top general, Omar Zein Aberdeen, said at a news conference on Friday that military authorities will not extradite al-Bashir.
"We will not hand him over," Aberdeen said. "If you politicians want to hand him, you can do. If anybody wants to hand him over, it should not be [the military]. We have laws and courts. We can put him on trial to face justice. Sudan has laws and institutions."
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Header Image Credit: SUDAN NEWS AGENCY
