Awad Ibn Auf, the face of the Sudan coup

Defence minister and vice president says a military council will run the country for two years.

(Aljazeera News) – It was the man named by President Omar al-Bashir as his deputy just six weeks ago who broke the news to the Sudanese people of the longtime ruler’s removal.

Dressed in army fatigues, General Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf declared on Thursday that the 75-year-old had been overthrown and arrested following months of nationwide protests against his three-decade rule.

In his address on state TV, Ibn Auf also said a military council would run the country for two years and announced the suspension of the constitution and the introduction of a month-long overnight curfew. Later on Thursday, he was sworn in as chief of the council.

The statement by Ibn Auf, who is also Sudan’s defence minister, was rejected by the demonstrators, who said the military takeover did not represent the change they had been calling for and vowed to continue protesting.

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