Date: Monday, 06 May 2019
Head of TMC in Sudan Gen. Abdel Fatah Burhan (File/Supplied/Nyamilepedia)
May 6th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – The ruling Sudanese Transitional Military Council (TMC) said on Saturday that it is sending troops to Port Suakin in preparation for forceful eviction of Turkish troops stationed in the tiny island for almost two years.
In December 2017, then Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, agreed to handover Suakin to Turkey authorities who would rebuild the ruined Ottoman port city lying on Sudan’s Red Sea coast and construct a naval dock to maintain civilian and military vessels.
Last week, reports alleged that military leaders who took control of Sudan’s leadership following the fall of al-Bashir’s nearly 30-year old rule were cancelling the deal, but a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman later denied the reports saying the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) was continuing to restore Ottoman-era artifacts left by on the Island without any problem.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the TMC spokesperson, General Shams al-Din Kabashi, the country is sending troops to the Red Sea island to prepare for an apparent forceful eviction of light Turkey troops based there.
“The Transitional Military Council (TMC), under the leadership of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has decided to send a contingent of the Sudanese armed forces to Port Suakin to prepare for the eviction of Turkish forces stationed there,” al-Kabashi said in the statement.
“This is in line with the decision by the council to nullify the agreement between the ousted President, Omar al-Bashir and Turkish [President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Island of Suakin is a Sudanese Territory and we will not accept any prejudice to our beloved Sudan,” Kabashi added.
