Sudan Fires Dozens of Diplomats with Alleged Links to Bashir

A legal committee in Sudan announced that dozens of diplomats have been dismissed for their alleged links to the administration of former President Omar al-Bashir.

The "Empowerment Removal Committee" (ERC) was set up under a law enacted last November in Sudan to dismantle the regime of Bashir, who was ousted in April last year after nearly three decades in power.

"109 ambassadors, diplomats, and administrators were fired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman, deputy head of the ERC said at a press conference in Khartoum.

He explained that this decision aims at eliminating the empowerment of the former system that “dealt with the jobs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a spoil.”

''This decision will open the door for nearly 150 to 200 Sudanese people to compete fairly for jobs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he added.

"It is worth mentioning that, some of the diplomats were appointed by Bashir himself and others were picked through his now dissolved National Congress Party," Taha Othman, a member of the committee said.

Earlier this month, the committee dissolved the boards of the country’s central bank and 11 other state-owned banks and fired the managers of eight of the banks.

It also seized the assets of the former ruling party last month.