Sudan’s president, Omar Al-Bashir has declared a national state of emergency, dismissing the federal government and sacking all state governors.
Bashir, who made the announcement in a nationwide television and radio broadcast today, Tuesday, replaced the sacked governors and government officials with members of the country’s security forces.
Hours after the announcement, President Bashir issued two presidential decrees appointing army and security officers to govern the country’s 18 provinces.
Earlier, Sudan’s Nnal Security and Intelligence Services (NISS) said that Bashir would be stepping down.
The Sudanese strong man has been the focus of anti-government protests in recent weeks. Protesters took to the streets after the announcement in the city of Omdurman, witnesses said, but were met with tear gas by police.
The demonstrations started over cuts to bread and fuel subsidies in December but later morphed into anger at President Bashir’s 30-year rule.
More than 1,000 people are reported to have been detained since the protests began.
Rights groups have said that more than 40 people have been killed in clashes with security forces.
