Sudan’s army has ousted veteran president Omar al-Bashir, but protestors against his iron-fisted rule denounced a “coup” and thousands rallied outside army headquarters as a night-time curfew kicked in.
In a somber televised address on Thursday, Defence Minister Awad Ibnouf announced “the toppling of the regime” and said Bashir had been detained in “a secure place”, bringing an end to his three decades in power.
A Sudanese army official says the military authorities will not extradite deposed President Omar al-Bashir but will try him at home, before the nation.
Col. Gen. Omar Zein Abedeen made the remarks at a press conference on Friday in the capital, Khartoum, defending the military’s removal of al-Bashir from power.
He says the ouster “was not a coup” but a response to the people’s demands.
He said that handing over al-Bashir would be “an ugly mark on Sudan … even rebels carrying weapons, we won’t extradite them.”
Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court, where he faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his deadly campaign against insurgents in Darfur