Sudan army to make ‘important’ announcement after weeks of protests

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The Sudanese army was Thursday planning to make “an important announcement”, state media said, after weeks of protests against longtime leader President Omar al-Bashir.

“The Sudanese army will issue an important statement soon. Wait for it,” a television anchor said, without giving further details.

The protests, which erupted in December, have become the biggest challenge yet to Bashir’s three decades of iron-fisted rule.

Thursday marked the sixth day of a defiant sit-in outside the military’s headquarters, which also houses Bashir’s official residence and the defence ministry.

Crowds of demonstrators have spent five nights thronging the sprawling complex, singing and dancing to the tunes of revolutionary songs.

Several military vehicles carrying troops entered the army compound in the early hours of Thursday, witnesses said.

And witnesses said many army vehicles carrying troops were deployed in the centre of Khartoum early Thursday.

“People are coming in droves,” said an onlooker at the sit-in without revealing his name for security reasons.

The group spearheading the nationwide demonstrations urged residents of the capital to mass outside army headquarters.

“We call on our people from across the Khartoum capital and the region around to immediately go to the sit-in area and not leave from there until our next statement is issued,” the Sudanese Professionals Association said.