Africa-Press – South-Sudan. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit had had an hour-long phone call with head of the Sudanese military General Abdelfattah al Burhan shortly before the Sudanese commander dissolved the transitional sovereign council and the coalition government headed by Abdallah Hamdok, sources have said.
According to a the high-level South Sudanese presidential source quoted by Sudan Tribune, Kiir was one of key regional leaders consulted by the military leaders in the Sudanese capital Khartoum hours prior to the dissolution of the Sovereign Council and the cabinet head by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.
The call between the two leaders, according to the source, occurred on Monday morning at around 10:00AM local time and then ended at 11AM. The leaders agreed to coordinate the efforts and to support each other in pursuit of peace and stability between the two countries and the region.
Later, in a broadcast statement at midday, al-Burhan declared the state of emergency, dissolved the transitional institutions and reestablished the transitional military council.
“His excellency the President of the Republic spoke to the chairman of the Military Council this morning. The two leaders exchanged views on the current political situation in Sudan. His excellency General Salva Kiir Mayardit assured the Sudanese people and the Sudanese leadership of the support of South Sudanese people and government”, a source who preferred to remain anonymous told the Sudan Tribune when reached to comment on the development unfolding in Khartoum.
Al-Burhan, according to the source “assured President Kiir of his commitment to implement the peace agreement”. The military takeover in Sudan was widely discussed on social media by South Sudanese. Some described the development as a return to dark days in Sudanese history and called on the South Sudanese government to not recognize the military junta in Khartoum. Others doubted whether the government of President Salva Kiir would take a neutral stance, describing it as “birds of the same feathers” to the one in Khartoum.
“It is quite unfortunate that developments in Khartoum are nothing but a return to the dark days of history in Sudan. The military takeover has killed hopes of democracy and reforms. Such developments have killed all the inspirations,” said one South Sudanese commentator.
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