Sudan appoints new defence minister
Sudan appointed a new minister of defence on Sunday, Sudan’s state news agency SUNA reported. The new minister was a former army officer and intelligence chief.
"President Omar al-Bashir, supreme commander of the armed forces, issued a presidential decree appointing Lieutenant General Awad Mohamed Ahmed bin Awaf as the defence minister," SUNA said.
The statement gave no further details.
Awaf was previously head of intelligence for the Sudanese Armed Forces and held a diplomatic post in Oman after retiring from the military several years ago.
Bashir - who is wanted for alleged war crimes in the western Darfur region - swept elections in April with more than 94 percent of the vote, though the election was boycotted by mainstream opposition parties.
He unveiled a new cabinet in June, in which an interim minister took over the defence ministry from Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, also indicted by the International Criminal Court for charges related to the Darfur conflict.
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