Sudanese President Omar Bashir yesterday fired Mubarak Al-Fadil Al-Mahdi, who served as his second vice president, palace sources said, without giving a reason. Mahdi took up the office almost two years ago after having led a breakaway group from the mainstream opposition Umma party which is led by his cousin, Sadek Al-Mahdi, a former prime minister. Mubarak Mahdi and a group of rebel Umma party officials returned to Sudan from exile and accepted ministerial portfolios, including the information and international cooperation posts. He was interior minister in his cousin's democratically elected government, which was toppled by Bashir in a 1989 bloodless coup. Yesterday's presidential decree targeted only Mahdi without mentioning his colleagues. It was not clear if the move signaled a tilt toward the Umma as part of a government effort to win over the party. The official SUNA news agency, quoting an unnamed presidential source, said Mubarak Mahdi was sacked because he was "operating outside institutions". It did not elaborate. As second vice president, he was the third most powerful figure in the executive after Bashir and First Vice President Ali Osman Taha.
| I'm not smart enough to know the significance of this. Even though I'm trying to keep an eye on it, I know I'm going to be surprised if any significant changes, one way or the other. With a closed society like Syria, there's no way to form opinions on why things are happening... |
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