Sudan's Empowerment Removal Committee condemns withdrawal of security forces from HQ sites

Sudan's Committee for Removal of Empowerment and Recovery of Public Funds on Sunday condemned the removal of security troops from 22 of the Committee's headquarters. 

News agency ANI quoted Wajdi Saleh, a committee member, as saying, “We have vowed to overthrow the regime of the National Islamic Front and we toppled it, and we vowed to dismantle the June 30 regime and restructure its security services and all its institutions, and we will not deviate from that." 

Thousands of Sudan civilians assembled inside of the empowerment removal committee's headquarters in Khartoum on Sunday evening, promising to protect all the committee's locations from where Sudanese security forces withdrew abruptly. It should be mentioned here that the troop removal comes amid rising tensions between the transitional government's military and civilian allies. 

Sudan's Empowerment Removal Committee has authority to deconstruct regime

Previously, the Committee was able to retrieve a number of enterprises, real estate, and large assets that had been controlled by former regime members and their associates. Sudan's Empowerment Removal Committee was created on 29 November 2019, by legislation enacted by the Sovereign Council and Council of Ministers. As per the legislation, the Committee has the authority to deconstruct the June 30 regime and de-empower the previous governing National Congress Party. 

On 30 June 1989, Omar al-Bashir led a military coup that deposed Saddiq al-Mahdi's elected administration. In 2019, amidst widespread demonstrations, the Sudanese military on April 11 overthrew the previous Omar al-Bashir-led government.  

Sudan-Ethiopia conflict 

More recently, Sudanese soldiers stopped an Ethiopian raid attempt near the Umm Barakit region of the Al-Fashqa border area. Ethiopian soldiers allegedly sought to make incursions into the disputed region on Sunday, September 26, but Sudanese armed troops resisted, forcing Ethiopian personnel to return, Al Jazeera reported. The event occurred during anti-coup protests in Sudan, which erupted after a failed coup attempt in Khartoum last week. 

The Ethiopian assault occurred on Saturday, according to Sudan Army Chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Al-Taher Abu Haja, media advisor to the Sudanese Armed Forces chief said, "The armed forces repelled an incursion by Ethiopian troops and forced them to retreat."  He further remarked that after recovering the region, the Ethiopian soldiers will not be allowed to reach Al-Fashqa. However, due to security concerns, the military spokesman refused to offer any further information. The Sudanese Security Forces are conducting an inquiry into conspirators and participants of the failed coup attempt in Khartoum. 

(Image: AP/ Representative)