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Sudan army ruler sacks prosecutor general

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Khartoum: Sudan’s military ruler on Thursday sacked the country’s acting prosecutor general, state media reported, just days after charges of corruption were brought against ousted leader Omar al Bashir.


General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, chief of the ruling Transitional Military Council, issued a decree sacking Al Waleed Sayyed Ahmed and replacing him with Abdallah Ahmed, the official SUNA news agency said.


No reason was given for the dismissal of the acting prosecutor.


But his sacking came just days after Bashir appeared in front of another prosecutor to face charges of corruption and illegal possession of foreign currency.


Al Waleed Sayyed Ahmed had been appointed soon after the ousting of Bashir in April, and his sacking also came weeks after a brutal crackdown on a protest camp in Khartoum left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.


Crowds of protesters were violently dispersed on June 3 by men in military uniforms, shooting and beating demonstrators who had participated in a weeks-long sit-in outside the army headquarters in central Khartoum.


The military council has steadfastly denied it had ordered the dispersal, but clarified it had ordered a purge of a nearby area notorious for “criminals” selling drugs.


The council has said that the purge of the area called Colombia was carried out only after a meeting of legal and security chiefs, which was attended by the now sacked prosecutor general.


Al Waleed Sayyed Ahmed told reporters last week that he had attended that meeting but had nothing to do with the dispersal of the main sit-in.


The violent dispersal has shocked demonstrators and the international community.


At least 128 people have been killed since the crackdown, the majority on the day the sit-in was cleared, according to doctors linked to the protest movement that led to the ouster of Bashir.


The health ministry has put the nationwide death toll on June 3 at 61.


The new prosecutor general Abdallah Ahmed, who previously was prosecutor general for Khartoum state, will head a committee to investigate the violent dispersal, SUNA said. A separate committee set up the military is also investigating the dispersal. It is expected to reveal its findings soon.


Meanwhile, a top Sudanese general said on Thursday that the mastermind behind a deadly crackdown on protesters has been identified, but refused to name him saying it would impact a probe into the raid.


Crowds of protesters were violently dispersed on June 3 by men in military uniforms, shooting and beating demonstrators who had participated in a weeks-long sit-in outside the army headquarters.


Protesters and witnesses allege that the crackdown was carried out by members of the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, whose commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo is the deputy chief of the country’s ruling military council.


But Dagalo, widely known as Himeidti, said on Thursday that an investigation into the crackdown has so far led to the identity of the man who planned the raid.


“We have identified the man responsible” for dispersing the protest camp, Dagalo said without naming the individual, adding “there’s no need to impact the investigation”.


“Whoever it is, whether from regular forces or a civilian, will be brought to trial. The investigation will be transparent and the trial will be public.”


On Thursday also defended Rapid Support Forces saying anybody could wear the unit’s uniform as it was easily available in the market.


“We arrested a general yesterday for distributing IDs of the RSF,” Dagalo said.


“We have also arrested 23 people in Port Sudan who were not RSF members but who were wearing RSF uniforms and checking people.”


Dozens were killed and hundreds wounded in the June 3 crackdown, launched days after protest leaders and generals failed to reach an agreement over who should head a new governing body — a civilian or soldier.


The generals, who seized power after the army ousted longtime ruler Bashir on April 11 following a popular uprising, have so far resisted to transfer power to a civilian administration.


— AFP


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