The African Union (AU) has lifted its suspension of Sudan after freezing its membership three months ago following the bloody crackdown on protesters. The AU’s Peace and Security Council said Friday that the decision followed the announcement of Sudan’s first cabinet since the ousting of Omar al-Bashir. The AU’s conflict-resolution body had noted that transferring power to a civilian-led authority was “the only way to allow the Sudan to exit the current crisis”. The new 18-member cabinet was hailed by AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki as “the beginning of a new era” for Sudan. The government was formed as part of a three-year power-sharing deal signed last month between the military and civilian parties and protest groups. The new cabinet also includes four women, among them Asmaa Abdallah, who becomes the country’s first female foreign minister. It also includes Ibrahim Elbadawi, a former World Bank economist who will serve as finance minister, and Madani Abbas Madani, a leader of the civilian coalition that negotiated the transition deal with the military, as a minister of industry and trade. General Jamal Omar, a member of the Transitional Military Council that took over…
African Union Lifts Suspension of Sudan After New Cabinet Formed
September 8, 2019
