Yesterday, Monday, the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, issued a decision appointing Lieutenant-General Yassin Ibrahim Yassin as Minister in charge of the Ministry of Defense, while two people were killed during the demonstrations called by the resistance committees and the anti-military forces.
A statement issued by the Sovereignty Council said that Al-Burhan appointed Yassin as Minister in charge of the Ministry of Defense, after he was serving as Minister of Defense in the previous government of Abdullah Hamdok, until its dissolution on October 25.
The position has remained vacant since that date, while Al-Burhan directly supervises the ministry as he is the army chief.
The spokesman for the Sudanese forces, Nabil Abdullah, affirmed the army's commitment to work for the success of the transitional period, leading to fair elections.
The army spokesman considered - in a television interview - that the contribution of the armed forces in the current stage is necessary to ensure the security of the country, as he put it.
Al-Burhan took exceptional measures last October 25, most notably imposing a state of emergency and dissolving the Sovereignty Councils and the Transitional Ministers, which political forces consider a "military coup", in exchange for the army's denial.
And last January 20, Al-Burhan issued decisions assigning ministers to the caretaker government, which included 24 ministers, except for the ministers of defense and interior, and a prime minister was not named after the position became vacant following Hamdok’s resignation.
Ongoing protests
On the other hand, the Central Sudanese Doctors Committee announced - in a statement - the killing of two protesters and the injury of dozens in the cities of Khartoum and Omdurman, after the security forces tried to disperse demonstrations called for by the resistance committees and political and professional forces.
The protesters in the "February 14 demonstrations" demanded a civil state, the removal of the military from power, and the accountability of those involved in the killing of demonstrators.
The police fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators near the presidential palace in the capital, and in front of the parliament headquarters in Omdurman, west of Khartoum.
The authorities had announced that they would not allow the demonstrations, called by the resistance committees, to approach the center of Khartoum.
These developments come in the midst of a massive African and international diplomatic movement to push the Sudanese parties to the dialogue table.
The head of the United Nations Transition Support Mission in Sudan announced that he had completed what he called the first phase of consultations with the parties to the crisis, in efforts launched by the mission last January to find a settlement.