Omar al-Bashir resigns as Sudan’s President

Omar al-Bashir has resigned as Sudan’s President, after nearly four months of demonstrations against his autocratic 30-year rule.

Report which confirmed that Omar al-Bashir resigned as Sudan’s President, came after Sudan’s state-controlled television said the army will make an “important statement” sometime Thursday, but offered no details about the upcoming message. The Associated Press and Reuters learnt from government sources that the 75-year-old ruler will step down, and that consultations are underway to form a transitional council.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese took to the streets in the centre of Khartoum in jubilation, dancing and chanting anti-Bashir slogans. Protesters outside the defence ministry chanted: “It has fallen, we won.” The protests began Dec. 19, with demonstrators accusing al-Bashir’s government of economic mismanagement that has sparked skyrocketing food prices, and fuel and foreign currency shortages.

Al-Bashir, who came to power in an Islamist coup in 1989, imposed a nationwide state of emergency Feb. 22 in an attempt to suppress the protests after an initial crackdown failed. The government said weeks ago that 31 people had been killed, but the group Physicians for Human Rights estimates the death toll is at least 60. The Sudanese ex-President is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in connection with atrocities in the western region of Darfur.