Sudan’s military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Sunday formally signed a deal that will see the latter back to the post he had lost during the October coup.
Lt-Gen Burhan had been under pressure from both domestic opponents and the international community to hand over power to the civilian government. The prime minister had been under house arrest for a month.
Sudan’s military also promised to release all political detainees after weeks of deadly unrest triggered by a coup, although large crowds took to the streets to reject any deal involving the army.
The deal faces opposition from pro-democracy groups that have demanded full civilian rule since Bashir’s ouster and have been angered by the deaths of dozens of protesters since the Oct. 25 coup.
A hero for the protest movement, Hamdok quickly became the villain for some.
The United States, Britain, Norway, the European Union, Canada and Switzerland welcomed the reinstatement of Hamdok and in a joint statement urged the release of other political detainees. The United Nations also welcomed Sunday’s deal
Western powers had condemned last month’s takeover and suspended economic assistance to Sudan, which has been trying to recover from a deep economic crisis.
The coup triggered mass demonstrations against the military, and medics aligned with the protest movement say security forces have killed 41 civilians in increasingly violent crackdowns.
Hamdok said he agreed to the deal to prevent more casualties.