KHARTOUM Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir swore in a new premier Sunday as hundreds of demonstrators called on the veteran leader to resign after he imposed a state of emergency across the country.<\/P>
Bashir imposed a year-long emergency on Friday after a deadly crackdown failed to suppress weeks of protests against his three-decade rule.<\/P>
The veteran leader, who swept to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989, dissolved the cabinet and provincial governments, and pledged to bring in technocrats to help end the economic crisis — the key factor behind the protests.<\/P>
On Sunday, former governor of the agricultural state of Jazeera, Mohamed Tahir Ela, was sworn in as the new prime minister at a ceremony, an AFP photographer said.<\/P>
Defense Minister General Awad Ibnouf was also sworn in as the first vice president after his predecessor Bakri Hassan Saleh was sacked by Bashir.<\/P>
Bashir also swore in 16 army officers and two officers from the National Intelligence and Security Service as new governors for the country’s 18 provinces.<\/P>
He is also expected to announce soon an entirely new cabinet as he pushes on with sweeping top level changes in the face of nationwide protests that have rocked his rule.<\/P>
Even as the new officials took oath, hundreds of protesters rallied in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, against the state of emergency.<\/P>
“We want to give the president a message that the state of emergency will not deter us,” said protester Sawsan Bashir.<\/P>
“Our aim is to overthrow this regime and we will do it.”<\/P>
Protest organizers have vowed to continue with daily rallies, accusing Bashir and his officials of mismanaging the economy that has led to soaring food prices and shortage of foreign currency.<\/P>
Deadly clashes between protesters and security forces have left 31 people dead since protests first erupted on December 19, officials say.<\/P>
Human Rights Watch says at least 51 people have been killed including medics and children.<\/P>
Protests initially erupted in the labor town of Atbara after a government decision to triple the price of bread.<\/P>
But the rallies swiftly escalated into protests against Bashir’s iron-fisted rule, with protesters calling for his resignation.<\/P>
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Source: Voice of America<\/P>
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