The head of the Supreme Council of Beja Opticals and Independent Amaudiyas in eastern Sudan, Muhammad al-Amin Turk, threatened an escalation that could lead to a road blockage and a complete closure of eastern Sudan.
He also launched a violent attack on the Prime Minister, Abdullah Hamdok, and demanded his resignation, saying that he should prosecute those he accused of the failed coup attempt or confessing lies to the people and the international community.
Yesterday, Thursday, the Supreme Council of Beja and Al-Omoudia Opticals in eastern Sudan closed Port Sudan International Airport, as part of the escalation of protests, in rejection of the "East Path" included in the peace agreement signed in Juba on the third of last October.
This step comes days after the council closed Port Sudan port, in addition to closing major roads, in an attempt to pressure the central government to achieve its political demands, foremost of which is the dismissal of the government, the formation of a military council, and the abolition of the eastern path through the Juba peace negotiations.
The leader and legal advisor to the "Supreme Council of Beja Opticals" Ahmed Musa told Anadolu Agency, "Port Sudan airport has been closed as a response to the central government's slowness in finding urgent and immediate solutions to the issue of eastern Sudan."
The council complains about the marginalization of the eastern regions, and demands the cancellation of the process, and the establishment of a national conference for eastern issues, which will result in the approval of development projects in it.
lawsuit
On the other hand, Sudanese sources said that the Public Prosecution Office in Kassala State, in the east of the country, has started judicial proceedings against Muhammad al-Amin Turk, head of the Supreme Council of Beja Opticals and Independent Columns in eastern Sudan.
Those sources stated that the Public Prosecution had initiated the case as a matter of public right and endangering others, in accordance with the criminal law, as these sources put it.
The Supreme Council of Beja and Al-Omoudiya Opticals closed about a week ago the seaports and the road linking Port Sudan and a number of cities in Sudan, including the capital, Khartoum, in addition to cutting off the Khartoum-Port Sudan railway.
On July 5, the Council closed the road between Khartoum and Port Sudan for three days, before the government sent a ministerial delegation on the 17th of the same month to negotiate with them about their demands, but without responding to them, according to statements by leaders in the Council.
Since August 21, 2019, Sudan has been experiencing a transitional period that is supposed to last 53 months and end with elections in early 2024, during which power is shared by the army, civilian forces and the armed movements that signed the peace agreement.