Bashir declares year-long state of emergency across Sudan

KHARTOUM: Update:Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir appointed a first vice president and a new prime minister on Saturday, a day after declaring a state of emergency to counter the most sustained protests since he came to power 30 years ago in a military coup.

Mohamed Tahir Ayala, the former governor of Gezira state whom Bashir had previously touted as a potential successor as president, was appointed prime minister. Defence Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf became first vice president while retaining his defence portfolio.

Bashir declared a one-year nationwide state of emergency on Friday and set up a caretaker administration. He replaced all state governors with military officials.

Urging his opponents to join a "path of national reconciliation" and dialogue, he called on parliament to postpone constitutional amendments that would have allowed him to seek another term in 2020.

There are no signs that has calmed matters, with the National Consensus Forces, one of the main opposition groups, saying the state of emergency was aimed at countering a "popular revolution" and vowing to push ahead until he is toppled.

Defence Minister Ibn Auf previously served as the head of military intelligence.

Earlier this month, he became the second of several top officials to strike a conciliatory tone towards the protests, saying that young people caught up in the recent turmoil had "reasonable ambition".

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Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir declared a nationwide state of emergency on Friday and dissolved the government, in an effort to quell weeks of demonstrations that have rocked his iron-fisted rule of three decades.

"I announce imposing a state of emergency across the country for one year," Bashir said in a televised address to the nation.

"I announce dissolving the government at the federal level and at the provincial levels," he added.

Deadly protests have rocked the east African country since December 19, with demonstrators accusing the government of mismanaging the nation's economy and calling on the veteran leader to step down.

Chanting "freedom, peace, justice," protesters took to the streets after the government tripled the price of bread.

Demonstrations first erupted in the farming town of Atbara, but the rallies swiftly mushroomed into a major challenge to Bashir's rule stretching back three decades.

Officials say 31 people have died in the protest-related violence, while Human Rights Watch says at least 51 people have been killed including medics and children.

The country's feared National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) have launched a sweeping crackdown to quell the protests, jailing hundreds of protesters, opposition leaders, activists and journalists.

Bashir, 75, swept to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989 that overthrew the elected government of then premier Sadiq al-Mahdi.

He has remained defiant in the face of protests, insisting that the only way the government can be changed is through the ballot box.

He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court to face charges of war crimes and genocide arising out of the long-running conflict in Darfur.