Cairo: Sudan’s military leader fired at least six ambassadors, including the envoys to the US, the European Union and France, after they condemned the military’s dissolution of the civilian government, a military official said Thursday. The state-run Sudan TV also reported the dismissals.
The diplomats pledged their support for the now-deposed government of Prime Minister Abddalla Hamdok.
Also fired by Gen Abdel-Fattah Buran late Wednesday were the Sudanese ambassadors to Qatar, China and the UN mission in Geneva.
The ambassadors were fired two days after Burhan dissolved the transitional government and detained the prime minister. The military allowed Hamdok to return home Tuesday.
Burhan said the military forces were compelled to take over because of quarrels between political parties that he claimed could lead to civil war.
In another development, Burhan fired Adlan Ibrahim, head of the country’s Civil Aviation Authority, according to the official. Adlan’s dismissal came after the resumption of flights in and out of Khartoum’s international airport resumed Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear if Ibrahim’s dismissal was linked to the reopening of the airport or whether the decision was made before then. The airport remained open Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, the UN Special Representative in Sudan met with Sudanese General Burhan on Wednesday and encouraged him to de-escalate the situation in the country, calling for access to and the release of detainees, his mission said in a statement on Thursday.
Volker Perthes “offered his good offices to facilitate a political settlement towards the restoration of the transitional partnership,” the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) said.
