KHARTOUM, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf on Thursday was sworn in as head of the transitional military council which he said will rule the country during a two-year transiational period, official Sudan TV reported.
"Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf took the constitutional oath as chairman of the Transitional Military Council and Kamal Abdul-Marouf Al-Mahi as his deputy," the report said.
On Thursday, Ibn Auf announced the ousting of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and the government, and declared a state of emergency for three months and a curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. local time for one month, which becomes effective as of Thursday.
He also announced suspension of the interim constitution of the Republic of Sudan, and closure of the Sudanese air space for 24 hours together with border passages all over Sudan until further notice.
The Sudanese Armed Forces issued a statement warning against non-compliance with the declared curfew, urging the citizens not to violate the curfew for their safety concern.
It also called on the citizens to cooperate to enable the armed forces and the security committee to perform their duty in keeping security, public safety and properties.
Some Sudanese protesters disagreed with the measures announced by Ibn Auf and the army. The Sudanese Professionals Association, an opposition organization, stressed in a statement its decision to continue the sit-in in front of army's general headquarters until power is handed over to a civil authority.
The Freedom and Change Alliance, also an opposition group, rejected the army's statement, urging its supporters to continue the sit-in.
"Our demands are clear that the entire regime and its figures must go and hand over the power to a civil government," said Omer Yousif Al-Digair, leader of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, in a statement.
One day before the ousting of Bashir, Khartoum State's security committee refused to give permission to a mass rally that was planned on Thursday in support of Bashir, who was scheduled to address the rally.
The international community called for dialogue and reconciliation during the transition process in Sudan.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for "calm and utmost restraint by all" in Sudan, a UN spokesman said Thursday.
Guterres said that the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people will be realized through an appropriate and inclusive transition process, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
He reaffirmed that the United Nations stands ready to support the Sudanese people as they chart a new way forward, Dujarric said.
UN's Central Emergency Response Fund released emergency funds of 26.5 million U.S. dollars to provide life-saving assistance in Sudan over the next six months.
The allocation will provide food, livelihood, nutrition, health, water and sanitation to over 800,000 people affected by a worsening economic crisis and food insecurity across seven states in Sudan, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a press release.
Russia has called on all political forces in Sudan to return order to the country, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
"We are closely monitoring the situation, and we hope that there will not be an escalation of the situation that could lead to human sacrifice," Peskov told reporters.
He said that the developments in Sudan were exclusively an internal affair of the Sudanese. But the Kremlin hoped that Russia and Sudan would maintain their relations in any outcome, he added.
Egypt expressed its full support for the choice of the Sudanese people and their free will to determine the future of Sudan, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Egypt also urged the international community to support what the Sudanese people will agree on "in this decisive historical stage."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for national reconciliation in Sudan and managing the transition process peacefully.
"I hope that Sudan gets through its current process in national reconciliation and peace, and I believe the country should work towards a normal democratic process," Erdogan said.
He stressed that Turkey supports the continuation of the "deep-rooted" relations with Sudan.
Since Dec. 19 last year, Sudan has been witnessing popular protests over deteriorating economic conditions and price hikes of basic commodities, with 1.9 million people displaced in the country and 1.2 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan.
