The High Council of Beja Nazirs in eastern Sudan yesterday announced the formation of an interim authority to rule the region, adding that it no longer recognises the government in Khartoum, Anadolu agency reported.
“We declare that the Beja Council is the sovereign authority recognised by the people of the region which is officially delegated by these people, and we declare that the supreme body of the Council is the customary legislative parliament of the region,” the council said in a statement.
“We also announce that we will not recognise the Khartoum government or any other central authority, institution or administration that lays its hands on our natural resources, wealth and freedoms before reaching an agreement between the region’s authority and the government of Sudan,” the statement added.
The statement explained that the interim authority can establish multiple autonomous institutions for governance, administration and management of the region’s affairs, and to build regular military forces to defend the people and their rights and to play the role of the security and police in the region.
The Sudanese government did not respond to the announcement.
On 16 December, the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council, headed by Army Commander Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, announced the suspension of the Eastern Sudan Track within the Juba Peace Agreement signed in October 2020.
The High Council of Beja Nazirs has in recent months closed Port Sudan and the road linking the capital and the port; in protest of the marginalisation of the region and the suspension of the agreement.
