JUST IN: Sudanese President Steps Down Amid Unrest

Khartoum–Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has resigned after weeks of demonstrations and a mutiny by some police officers.

Vice-President Bakri Hassan Saleh has been sworn in vowing to uphold the “rule of law”. Hassan has been sworn in in presence of heavy security.

Mr Bashir is being held against his will by security forces at the presidential palace in the capital, his brother told the African-post

Tensions escalated after the security attached to the president arrested a senior judge yesterday, prompting bitter street protests in the Islamists nation.

“Security forces say they can’t release him, he wants to come home,” Mr Hassan’s brother, Ibrahim Bashir, told the African-Post, adding the security forces said there were concerns for his safety if he was released.

Earlier, announcing his resignation on state television, Mr Bashir said it would be “better for the country in the current situation” if he stood down.

Local media described the developments as a “coup by the army and the vice-president”.

The army and the vice-president deny the claims.

“It was not a coup at all, it was the wish of the people,” Ahmed Thoufeeg, the vice president’s secretary, told AP news agency. Mr Hassan’s office has denied widespread reports that the military put pressure on Mr Bashir to resign.

The British Foreign Office has advised against “all but essential travel” to the capital Khartoum, where a third of the population lives, but said it had received no reports of the unrest affecting the airport or tourist areas.