Khartoum Tightens Security ahead of June 30 Protests

Demonstrators wave their national flag as they attend a protest demanding President Omar Al-Bashir to step down, outside Defense Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 10, 2019. (Reuters)
Demonstrators wave their national flag as they attend a protest demanding President Omar Al-Bashir to step down, outside Defense Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 10, 2019. (Reuters)
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Khartoum Tightens Security ahead of June 30 Protests

Demonstrators wave their national flag as they attend a protest demanding President Omar Al-Bashir to step down, outside Defense Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 10, 2019. (Reuters)
Demonstrators wave their national flag as they attend a protest demanding President Omar Al-Bashir to step down, outside Defense Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 10, 2019. (Reuters)

Sudanese authorities have imposed strict security measures in preparation for protests planned by followers of the former regime and Islamists to commemorate the 1989 coup as the revolutionary forces are also planning a rally on the same day.

The Khartoum State Security Committee, chaired by the state’s designated governor, Youssef Adam al-Dai, announced the development of a tight security plan, and tightened coordination between all security and regular agencies to deal decisively with any violence.

For June 29 and 30, bridges and highways will be closed across the country’s provinces without exception.

“We have had information about the plans of the saboteurs and the intruders, who are planning to drag the celebrations into chaos,” al-Dai said in a statement.

Al-Dai said that the State Security Committee will not allow the eruption of violence, calling on everyone to cooperate with the competent authorities to ensure the success of the security plan.

Emergency security measures also include the closure of markets, commercial and service shops, to protect them from saboteurs, according to al-Dai’s statement.

Meanwhile, authorities announced the tightening of the health ban designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus and accordingly issued a decision to freeze the issuance of new permits until further notice.

Al-Dai said that authorities will freeze the issuance of new passes until further notice, while they have begun issuing permits for doctors, merchants and journalists to enable them to roam freely in light of the health restriction imposed to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

He stressed that the government intends to strictly implement the health ban and fully comply with the health requirements for coronavirus prevention.

Al-Dai’s statement appealed to protesters and citizens to cooperate with security services in maintaining the peacefulness of the protests, not to encroach on government buildings and citizens’ properties and to stay away from military sites and areas.



Syria's New Rulers Appoint Maysaa Sabrine to Lead Central Bank, Official Says

People and cars are seen in front of the Central Bank of Syria, after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 11, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
People and cars are seen in front of the Central Bank of Syria, after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 11, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
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Syria's New Rulers Appoint Maysaa Sabrine to Lead Central Bank, Official Says

People and cars are seen in front of the Central Bank of Syria, after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 11, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
People and cars are seen in front of the Central Bank of Syria, after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 11, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

Syria's new rulers have appointed Maysaa Sabrine, formerly a deputy governor of the Syrian central bank, to lead the institution, a senior Syrian official said.

Sabrine did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.

She would be the first woman to lead the institution in its more than 70-year history, replacing Mohammed Issam Hazime who was appointed governor in 2021 by toppled President Bashar al-Assad.