KHARTOUM (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2019) The Sovereign Council (SC) of Sudan on Thursday said that it had canceled death sentences for eight members of the militant rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army in-Opposition (SPLA-IO), based in the southern part of the country, and decided to release 18 others from custody.
Last week, the SC and south-based insurgents concluded a comprehensive peace agreement following talks in South Sudan.
"The Council has adopted a number of decisions for the implementation of the agreement ... signed in the South Sudanese capital of Juba. In particular, the Council decided to annul death penalties for eight convicted members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army in-Opposition under leadership of Abdul Wahid Noor along with release of 18 imprisoned [SPLA-IO members]," SC spokesperson Mohamed Faki Suleiman said.
In late August, Sudan finally restored its political order after months of violent confrontation between the previously ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the civilian opposition. A new Sovereign Council with equal military-civilian representation was assembled and the prime minister was appointed to form a new cabinet.
The council will govern the country for the next 39 months. For the first 21 months, it will be chaired by former TMC leader Abdel Fattah Burhan, and afterward by a civilian-selected official.
Among the heritage of ousted president Omar Bashir was instability in Darfur state, where his government forces in 2003 violently suppressed an uprising. In 2009, Bashir became the first ever sitting head of state to be wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Darfur.
