Ex-PM urges Sudan’s al-Bashir to resign amid protests

KHARTOUM

Sadiq al-Mahdi, Sudan’s former prime minister, called on President al-Bashir to resign on Friday amid continued popular demonstrations against his rule.

Speaking after Friday prayers at a Khartoum mosque, al-Mahdi urged al-Bashir to relinquish executive authority with a view to averting the country’s economic and political collapse.

“The president should respond to the demands of the people by relinquishing authority,” he declared.

“His insistence on clinging to power -- and using violence to put down the protests -- will only lead to serious consequences,” he added.

Khartoum and several other Sudanese cities were shaken by protests on Friday, with demonstrators demanding al-Bashir’s immediate departure, witnesses told Anadolu Agency.

Activists are calling for a million-man protest on Saturday to mark the anniversary of Sudan’s April 1985 uprising, which led to the overthrow of the Gaafar Nimeiri regime.

According to the Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which has played a leading role in organizing the protests, demonstrators will march to army headquarters in Khartoum on Saturday, where they plan to call on the army to force al-Bashir to step down.

Since last December, Sudan has witnessed steadily mounting protests against al-Bashir’s continued rule.