Advisers to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan promise that government formation is \u2018imminent,\u2019 and says ousted leader Hamdok is a top contender to head cabinet<\/strong><\/p>\n

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Thursday with Sudan\u2019s army chief, calling for the \u201cimmediate restoration of the civilian-led government\u201d after a military coup in the country last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Secretary urged General Burhan to immediately release all political figures detained since October 25 and return to a dialogue that returns Prime Minister Hamdok to office and restores civilian-led governance in Sudan,\u201d State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Blinken also spoke with Hamdok, reiterating the \u201cstrong support of the United States for the Sudanese people who seek democracy,\u201d according to a separate statement from Price.<\/p>\n

Earlier Thursday, Sudan\u2019s army chief ordered the release of four civilian ministers detained since he led a military coup last month. The move by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan came as the army said the formation of a new government was \u201cimminent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burhan \u2014 Sudan\u2019s de facto leader since the 2019 ouster of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir \u2014 last week dissolved the government, detained the civilian leadership, including Hamdok, and declared a state of emergency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are considering all internal and external initiatives to serve the national interest,\u201d Burhan\u2019s media adviser Taher Abouhaga said. \u201cThe government formation is imminent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours later, Sudan TV said Burhan had ordered the release of four officials: Hashem Hassabalrasoul, Ali Geddo, Hamza Baloul and Youssef Adam.<\/p>\n

Hassabalrasoul is telecommunications minister, Geddo heads the trade ministry, Baloul is information minister and Adam holds the youth and sports portfolio. It was not immediately clear when the ministers will be released.<\/p>\n

The decision came shortly after a phone call between Burhan and UN head Antonio Guterres, who personally appealed to the military chief to restore the democratic transition.<\/p>\n

Guterres encouraged \u201call efforts towards resolving the political crisis in Sudan and urgently restoring the constitutional order and Sudan\u2019s transitional process,\u201d a United Nations statement said.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Burhan met with the African Union envoy for the Horn of Africa Olusegun Obasanjo and said that \u201ca government of technocrats was about to be appointed,\u201d state news agency SUNA said. The AU suspended Sudan after the coup.<\/p>\n

Western diplomats have called for Hamdok\u2019s reinstatement, while Arab powerhouses such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates urged the civilian-led transition to be restored.<\/p>\n

Tut Gatluak, South Sudanese presidential adviser and head of a mediation delegation, said the order to free the ministers came after separate meetings with both Burhan and Hamdok, who remains under effective house arrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe agreed that detainees would be released in batches,\u201d Gatluak told AFP in Khartoum. \u201cWe called for all detainees to be released.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Key figures have remained in detention including sovereign council member Mohamed al-Fekki, Hamdok\u2019s adviser Yasser Arman and minister of cabinet affairs Khalid Omar Youssef.<\/p>\n

Gatluak said negotiations were ongoing to form a government.<\/p>\n

\u201cBurhan has no problem with Hamdok returning to his position of prime minister, but he doesn\u2019t want the situation to go back as before October 25,\u201d the day of the coup, Gatlauk said. \u201cHamdok remains the first nominee for the head of cabinet, but that\u2019s in case he agrees,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The army\u2019s power grab sparked days of mass protest in cities across Sudan, with at least a dozen people killed as heavily armed security forces opened fire, according to medics.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, small gatherings of protesters rallied in neighborhoods around Khartoum chanting \u201cDown with military rule.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advisers to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan promise that government formation is \u2018imminent,\u2019 and says ousted leader Hamdok is a top contender to head cabinet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Thursday with Sudan\u2019s army chief, calling for the \u201cimmediate restoration of the civilian-led government\u201d after a military coup in the country last month. \u201cThe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":8146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,211],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-slider"],"yoast_head":"\n