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Exiled opposition leader returns to Sudan to ‘end the war’

January 27, 2017 at 2:48 pm

Exiled former-Prime Minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi returned to Sudan yesterday after more than two years away to “end the war”.

Al-Mahdi flew in to Khartoum yesterday, according to his daughter and deputy head of the Umma party, Mariam Al-Mahdi. A coup in 1989 ousted Al-Mahdi’s civilian government from power, replacing him with current President Omar Al-Bashir.

Upon his arrival, authorities prevented supporters from entering the airport to welcome Al-Mahdi. However, Al-Mahdi later spoke to thousands of supporters who came to see their former leader in the city of Omdurman.

“I came back to end the war, re-establish peace and work for a democratic transition,” Al-Mahdi told the crowds.

“I will work with all the parties in order to put an end to hostilities and to see that humanitarian aid reaches all those who need it,” Al-Mahdi went on to explain.

Al-Mahdi held the post of prime minister from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1986 to 1989, his government being the last to be democratically elected before the 1989 coup.

Al-Mahdi was arrested in 2014 and held in custody for a month on treason-related charges, punishable by death in the African nation. The opposition leader was arrested for accusing pro-government paramilitary forces of rape in Sudan’s Darfur region where around 300,000 have died since 2003, according to United Nations figures.

Protests erupted after Al-Mahdi’s detention with protesters calling for the fall of Al-Bashir’s government. After his legal team appealed to the justice minister to suspend the charges, Al-Mahdi was released weeks after and went to Egypt in self-imposed exile.

While living in exile, Al-Mahdi signed an agreement joining Umma in an alliance with other opposition parties and rebel groups from the warring Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Darfur regions.

Al-Mahdi also urged workers to stage a three-day nationwide strike against Al-Bashir’s regime in November last year to protest fuel subsidy cuts and the country’s economic problems.