Sudan: PM Hamdok Intends to Resign 

By Staff, Agencies 

Sudan Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok told a group of national political and intellectual figures that he intends to resign in the coming hours, two sources close to Hamdok told Reuters on Tuesday.

Hamdok was reinstated on November 21 following a coup a month earlier that saw the military take power and end a transitional partnership with political parties.

While several political forces took part in drafting the agreement, according to the sources, it has faced widespread criticism from parties and the general public.

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people marched on the presidential palace rejecting both military rule and Hamdok's decision to return, which he said he took to preserve gains made during the transition and to end bloodshed.

The November 21 agreement with the country's military chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, was criticized by pro-democracy supporters of Hamdok who said that it provided legitimacy for the October 25 coup led by Burhan.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese took to the streets of the capital Khartoum on Sunday to mark three years since the start of mass demonstrations that led to the ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir.

The United Nations Human Rights Office on Tuesday said that it received 13 allegations of rape and gang rape by security forces during the protests. Two deaths were also reported during the mass demonstrations, raising the death toll from protests against military rule since the coup to 47.

There were also reports of security forces firing tear gas at the huge crowd gathered near the republican palace.

Hamdok on late Saturday urged restraint from the protesters, warning of "the country's slide toward the abyss."