TLTP
\nABU DHABI
\nLeading Sudanese politician and former prime minister Sadiq Al Mahdi died from a coronavirus infection three weeks after being admitted to hospital in the UAE, family sources said on Thursday.
\nAl Mahdi, 84, was Sudan\u2019s last democratically elected prime minister and was overthrown in 1989 in the military coup that brought former president Omar Al Bashir to power.
\nBritish ambassador to Khartoum, Irfan Siddiq, offered his condolences. \u201cShocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Imam Alsadiq Almahdi,\u201d he wrote on Twitter.
\n\u201cA true patriot and leader of the nation. My deepest condolences to all the Sudanese people on this loss,\u201d he added
\nSiddiq ended his tweet with the Arabic transliteration for a phrase used among Muslims after someone\u2019s death: \u201cMay God have mercy on him. We belong to God and to him we shall return.\u201d
\nAl Mahdi led the moderate Umma Party, one of the largest opposition parties under Al Bashir, and remained an influential figure in Sudanese politics.
\nAl Mahdi\u2019s family said he had tested positive for Covid-19 last month and was transferred to the UAE for treatment a few days later after a brief spell in hospital in Sudan.
\nThe Umma Party said Al Mahdi would be buried on Friday morning in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital Khartoum on the opposite bank of the Nile river.
\nAl Mahdi had returned to Sudan in December 2018 after a year-long self-exile, just as protests over worsening economic conditions and Al Bashir\u2019s rule gathered momentum.
\nHis daughter, Mariam Sadiq Al Mahdi, deputy leader of the Umma Party, was among those detained during the demonstrations. While a successor to lead the party has not yet been announced, she has been the most visible party figure in political negotiations and the media in recent years.
\nOpposition parties were weakened greatly under Al Bashir\u2019s three-decade regime, and are jostling for power with the military during Sudan\u2019s transition, making the Umma Party\u2019s continued unity crucial to maintaining the balance of power.
\nAfter the military forced Al Bashir from power, Al Mahdi pushed for a transfer to civilian rule, warning of the risks of a counter-coup and calling for the powerful Rapid Support Forces paramilitary to be integrated. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TLTP ABU DHABI Leading Sudanese politician and former prime minister Sadiq Al Mahdi died from a coronavirus infection three weeks after being admitted to hospital in the UAE, family sources said on Thursday. Al Mahdi, 84, was Sudan\u2019s last democratically elected prime minister and was overthrown in 1989 in the military coup that brought former […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n