Sudan’s PM and cabinet take office vows to tackle conflicts

Sudan’s new prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, was sworn in on Wednesday as leader of a transitional government at the presidential palace in Khartoum, state news agency SUNA said.

Earlier on Wednesday, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, was sworn in as head of the 11-member Sovereign Council, which replaces the now-defunct Transitional Military Council.

 

The new head of the government Abdalla Hamdok has vowed to make of achieving peace and solving the country’s economic crisis a priority.

 

“The revolution’s deep-rooted slogan, ‘freedom, peace and justice,’ will form the program of the transitional period,” Hamdok told reporters at a news conference in the capital Khartoum.

 

West allies including the United States, Britain and Norway welcomed Hamdok’s appointment, calling it a historic moment for Sudan and urged the military to “engage constructively” with the new government.

 

“The appointment of a civilian-led government presents an opportunity to rebuild a stable economy and create a government that respects human rights and personal freedoms,” the Troika said in a joint statement.

 

Hamdok is tasked by the Council to rebuild an economy battered by years of US sanctions and government mismanagement during Bashir’s 30-year rule.

Among the military men sworn in were General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, outgoing deputy head of the military council.