has made things worse, the it's been described as the largest open air museum in the world. now egypt hopes the country's rich archaeological past will also play a role in the country's economic future. katya little priscilla young al jazeera. ah, this is all. these are the tell stories scientists away that a new corona virus very detected in south africa, could be more easily spread and better able to evade vaccines. several countries including the united kingdom as well and singapore of imposed travel restrictions. we will be suspending all flight from 6 southern african countries and we will add in those countries to the travel read list. those countries are south africa, namibia recessive, s what teeny. and is involved way and for twana. and we will be requiring

anyone that arrives from those countries from foi am on sunday to quarantine in hotels. a corona virus infections put the check president back in hospital just hours after he was released from a stay last in 6 weeks. man, a same on hunter council meeting, which was to officially appoint the new prime minister effort to finalize a new government line up after recent elections have been delayed by siemens treatment for a chronic illness, which hasn't been publicly named. that the head of sedans governing council says last month's military takeover was the best option to stop what was becoming a spiraling crisis. gentleman homage hummed undying ro told to 0 and an exclusive interview, but all parties were aware of the option of a military intervention, and the prime minister accepted the plan. police and soldiers from australia have arrived in holl yadda in the solomon islands to help local authorities restore

peace protesters and set fire to buildings during demonstrations against growing chinese influence. authorities in the fang, charlotte of martinique have ordered a curfew falling days of unrest. protesters looted shops and set a barricades on thursday as demonstrations against covered 19 restrictions turned violence. a fire in a coal mine in russia's killed at least 50 people, including rescue workers, trying to get people out. 285 people were in the mine were coal dust and a ventilation shaft caught fire ali on thursday. those are the headlines. the news is going to continue here on al jazeera, after an exclusive talk to audio 0 with the deputy head of sedans governing council teaching. and you can watch out to see were english streaming light all night. he channels plus thousands of our programs, the award winning documentaries and debt. these reports subscribe to you

cheese dot com, forward slash al jazeera english lou following the military takeover in through town on october 25th. that by general, up to 14 grand and the house arrest or prime minister up to la ham took it, took nearly amount of negotiations to reach a political agreement. the deal was signed on november 21st at the presidential palace between alba, han, and hancock. but there is another significant figure in the countries political dynamics, general mohammed ham, down, doug, commonly called amity. his general al will hands deputy in the sovereignty council . but he is also the leader of what's perhaps the army strongest division, the rapid support forces. i am brazil said that in cartoon, although general douglas appears to play a wall behind the scenes, many in sudan and across the region considered him the most powerful figure in the

country. but what does his polar come from? and as he also made years between the army and political parties, would you like to become the company is next press. the deputy chairman of the 70 council of through dan, mom at home, don douglas talked to al jazeera general mohammed hum dan doug law. thank you for talking touches here in with her with her with her vis. so the machine you are welcome and we are pleased to have you here. oh general. what was happening behind the scenes on october 25th. how did the military takeover happen? and how did you make the decision for the power crap her from sitting over here? what's happened on october 25th was the ultimate outcome of a long process since it changed started in sudan. during such process, many discussions were made. and many initiatives proposed by various parties,

the prime minister himself proposed to initiatives during our meetings in the transitional partners council or the sovereignty council, with a cabinet of ministers. we made maximum efforts, but we couldn't reach a breakthrough. at that point, we were left with 3 options, the best of which was the move we had taken. such a move was completely agreeable to the prime minister. we did not make such a move on our own. the prime minister was an agreement with us as to the decision we had adopted. however, for him, the decision should have been endorsed by the freedom unchanged coalition. as i said, we were left with 3 scenarios. freedom unchanged, coalition, endorsing the disillusion of the government, which was next to impossible. and the 2nd scenario was the move we had taken. and the 3rd was the collapse of our country. we adopted the best option available. we

made the right decision from our perspective at that time and we prevented the collapse. so general, you have been very open about your views on political parties in the transitional government and several times you have demanded the prime minister of the lamb duke to dissolve the government. doesn't it seem that it was already set up? am please, can you specify your own role in this military takeover? banana philip darlena. though, we had several meetings with all the political party. we extended all advice possible from the beginning till the end. we did not spare any efforts. regretfully it was their fault. some sudanese are putting the blame on us. on the contrary, we are not to blame. we believe we had taken the right move. during the past 30

years, the country was under the grip of a single part to redeem what we so is that our country was taken by another great. i said that in public we were left again to a single grip roller. and the move we had taken has put an end to this. that change was great. it was, it started by all the sudanese people, especially the youth who are present more than 60 percent of our population. regretfully such change was hijacked by a single party who was part of the deal we had signed with other parties to such party gripped all the powers and its hand, side lines, all other parties. it was even worse than the former single party redeem. according to the deal was science, the prime minister has helped. he had a media tory role and the parties were to respond. despite the advice will of

the 4 major parties manipulated old powers. the prime minister and other small parties were an agreement with us even before signing the deal. we wished to reach an arrangement on the governors of the provinces. the pushed us to sign the deal earlier without finalizing this issue. after the signing the back down and the issue of governors are still pending for more than a year. are we blamed? simply because we are the ones in the uniform. so then is the country of all of the sudanese but not only ours. so did you decide to come back a militaristic, over based on that the prime minister was not able to control his own government. reason was it was that it is not the issue of prime minister losing control. according to the deal. the freedom of change coalition was brought on board. so his

hands are tied. he cannot make a decision of his own accord without the freedom and change coalition, endorsing such a decision. the prime minister had no leeway, and that was the problem. freedom and change coalition. what again asked all the agreements made from liberating the exchange rate to lifting the subsidy. the prime minister should be vocal on this issue. he should admit which side was supporting him over the past 2 years. it was us, you repeat them, said that you are committed to the goals of the revolution. yet your forces are accused of participating in the killings of the protesters in front of the mit headquarters in 2019. have the beam held accountable for what they have done. so would you, this is a good question. all i can say is that is

a pro committee active on this issue, working on the investigations till date. the findings are not established yet. i cannot comment on the proceedings of an independent committee, and we hope that results are out soon. consider the fact that you are so powerful in this country. do you believe that the committee could be fully independent, living? it is an independent committee, totally independent. so general, your forces have also been accused of arresting politicians, detain an activist, and also or pressing protesters, one the streets over the past month. have your forces been involved in any killings of the civilians through the protest that took place last month. and the i listen, there is an organized campaign targeting that, that support forces it aimed at demonizing,

these forces. we cannot establish those behind this malicious campaign. but according to the law that i would support forces to support the regular authorities . they have no power to arrest or use force again, as for testers, the rapid support forces are deployed at various parts within the capital. they also have several camps within and around that capital city. so general douglas, just weeks before the military take over, some tribes in is to down. they have blocked the ways and barricaded the roads to heart. so is sudan. ports would work completely cut off from the capitol. why didn't you interfere? why didn't you stop them in doing so? because many said that you deliberately let them to do in order to paved away for the military take over human luna,

dia this is part of the malicious campaign 1st, the issue of the east of so dan is not new since the signing of the dual bag limits for peace, the east was in total rejection of the agreement. second, we have worked hard on this issue. held several meetings more than 50 meetings with the concerned parties. i personally managed to bring them closer to ideal. i even tried with a special committee led by general sham sir danika, but she assisted by other ministers and advisors to engage with them in dialogue. such dial it should be added to the public for them to lay out their demands with the aim of reaching an agreement. it was followed by a meeting with a supreme council for peace, but we reached a deadlock. after that, the province was cut off. it was an unprecedented move,

which was initiated by the freedom and change coalition. not the people of the east . they blocked the roads, the railway lines and the food was sealed off for 4 months. even when the oil facilities were brought home. we did our best to reach an amicable solution through dialogue. we cannot be part of this problem. so general, tell us about what happened in the days that led up to november 21st. the day that the agreement has been signed between the prime minister, after humble and general apprehend. so what are you involved in the negotiations when you consider shooting since october 25th, we have covered a long distance along the road. many initiatives were proposed by various parties within sudan and without but with a trade that we are committed to the cause and the goals of that of lucian. we do not wish to see it straying, of course, as they said,

we should not rid the country from a single party at all and bring a similar one. doctor abdullah ham dukes role is to ensure that of illusion will remain on course. many claim that i do a review of the office from the beginning, but this is not true. we had hoped to have him as the 15th member of the sovereignty council. but we saw it was necessity to have him do as a prime minister to avoid any sanctions from the international community over the general albert han and his team exerted huge efforts, especially of the last 3 days before the recent agreement was made. were part and parcel of this agreement, of course, and this agreement will ensure. so dan is back on the right course. again. general, you negotiated an agreement with a prime minister after la hum to was under house arrest. why should sudanese people accept it? if it looks to be a forced agreement benevolence, redated with

a lower limit to see if from the moment the correction move was taken. ham duke was kept in his own residence, not a house arrest. he kept his own guards. on the day we were supposed to meet him, the wives of ministers who had been arrested, stormed the area. that's why i'm duke was moved to the protocol palace for his own safety. after that, he returned to his residence in the following days with no money. but with cautious movements, he was being visited by delegates and other politicians. we were in contact with him too. i personally visited him together with general albert hon. even official delegations were able to meet him. if he were put to a house arrest, he wouldn't have been able to receive these delegates or make calls with foreign officials, like the united states secretary of state. we had his safety and mine. i made that volatile situation where any act of violence was not ruled out. general. we see

your footprints everywhere, and this country as a mediator between on groups between the tribes political parties, even the border disputes. and you have the powerful, rapid support forces which many states that it has never lost a battle. you're coming from a very humble background. so can you tell us, how did you build such a powerful empire renew really so a little harder. after the 1st part of the question, we thank god for guiding our steps to the right move. secondly, i thank all parties involved, especially that i appeal to them. old. i thank them for accepting my mediation role . that credit does not go to me alone. i am assisted by some others. we once fought again as each other,

but we later came to realize that we should join hands to build our country. that's why we agreed we should reach a compromise. we can build our country by actions, not by hopes. in addition to the job agreement for peace, we managed to reach the south sudan. during the talks with arms groups, we managed to bring all views together. president silva occurred an opposition leader, much as to the rapid support forces. as you know, old battles involve victory and defeat. i cannot see us as victorious. we fought against our fellow sudanese, i'm all parties are losers. we hope we learn from the past and turn such last into positive efforts towards building our country. we should all abandon racial, tribal and provincial divisions. general, do you believe that you have ever killed innocent people or do you feel any regret

for the killings that you had to do? and i'm adding no color. all the batches we fought were against armed ribbons. i know those rebels of my fellow sudanese no side is victorious, loss is suffered by old no doubt. i feel deep regret, especially when you look at the number of the fallen, the widows and orphans. we could have all avoided these bitter consequences. we shouldn't have engage and fighting, and the 1st place, every drop of blood would be spared, and we shall join hands to build our country. however, i can say i fought against armed rebels, not i'm on innocent civilians. so general, you have participated in the war in yemen. send the troops to fight on the side of saudi last question. why did you accept to do that and are you, are you still in yemen? if so, why that are mother area?

another dollar. it was not my personal decision, it was a states, it was made on of the coalition to restore legitimacy in yemen. it was also made of the former redeem. and after toppling the geem, we were supposed to honor all the past agreements, domestic and international. these forces were locked, dispatched, and on my orders, they were sent under international agreements made with the state, considering the fact that you're one of the most powerful men in this country. i'm sure if you didn't find sending the troops to yemen, moral, you will do that. so right. the lord be a dilemma of your mind is still god. i do not see myself as a mighty influential man. i am a simple man sudanese citizen and the 1st place it is true. i am the vice president of the sovereignty council. but i am a simple sudanese man. secondly,

that decision was made on the original agreement involving all the arab countries. not so dana low. almost all the other countries were part of it. above all, our forces are not fighting inside them and now they are inside the saudi arabian borders. fighting in defense, the 2 holly mosques, general, some say that your, your troops salary is not being paid by the state. so how do you pay the salaries done and where do you make that money from that and they will during the day. this is also part of the malicious campaign aiming at demonizing, the rapid support forces. how can i afford to pay those soldiers? these forces are part of the armed forces. those soldiers, like any other regular force, are paid by the finance ministry. and you can verify this with the finance minister

or his under secretary. so do you confirmed that your troops are not being financed by your own resources? then the more across that a very you could say i have my own sources of income. i have my own trade business . i have for my pit degree of merchants. i like any other businessmen can lend a helping hand to the armed forces of the police as a token of appreciation. the rapid support forces are regular forces with their own duties restrictions, rights and obligations. not my personal militias. i cannot afford it, but some people said that you didn't only build a military empire, but also business empire by using the powerful rep is supple forces into countries . so would you agree with them that if the have this is not true, we have a long history in trade. i personally started my own business in 1990. we were

among the 1st to discover gold in sudan. we used metal detectors and ventured out in the desert, searching for the gold in double armour, for example, we like any other sudanese citizen, applied with the mining minister for our license. we paid the relevant fees and satisfied all the formalities. after that, we set up a plan which was running for a while. that's why people have moved heaven an air claiming we seize tons of gold . and then we handed over the plan to the government with the 11 kilograms of gold in our position at that time. in addition, there are thousands of for implants operating in the area, producing hundreds of cables of gold every month. general. your forces also have been accused by the right groups and the worst waivers in there for off killings, ratings and burning the wheels. so what makes them qualify to be

a part of the security make up into that and how to prepare for the lower the warnings are for an attack on the villages was in 2003, while the rapid support forces were foamed. in 2013, this is living proof that we are targeted with a malicious propaganda. on the contrary, we were part of the solution in the fall, as we help the displaced return home. when our forces are deployed across the fall to maintain security, i advise you to pay a field trip and see for yourself. you will see all the regular forces fulfilling the duties. there's the forces, the police and the rapid support forces. go to the food and see for yourselves who is guarding the people and who is protecting their seasonal harvest. to general, why are your forces part of the army yet?

they have their own uniforms. the on cars, the on a basis. even the on commander in chief, but the head of the army says that you are one unit. so how's death? all the arms in the world have their own uniform. according to the law, we are part of the regular army. we are reporting to the chief commander of the armed forces. it is through we answered the chief command of the armed forces, adding to that, each branch of the armed forces have their own unique uniform. the special forces, then century, the naval and air forces. and this is more me and all armies worldwide. but in reality, people say that your forces do not get the orders from the head of the army, but from you, because i'm running, this is not true. i am the commander of that up to support forces. i received

orders from the chief commander of armed forces, an intern id lay this order to that up and support forces, and all is documented through official correspondence general already to integrate your forces into the army as part of the security sector reform. and if so, how will that happen? and most importantly, when she went to florida with a form is an ongoing process. and we are part of the army. but these rumors are circulated by people with agendas. the latest political agreement spoke about one unified national army. and reform will entail all the branches, the army and the rapids support forces, the police and security forces. we are marching ahead with reforms. in addition, that up it's about forces are not a unique phenomenon in sudan. many other countries have similar forces. so general,

the prime minister was very much clear when i had an interview with him regarding the security sector reform. if they insist on your forces to be fully integrated into the army based on a certain time line, would you agree with that? or would you go against the decision of the prime minister? and the government reason with whom i knew will will let me in the prime minister is not concerned with the form to the security potters. he is responsible for certain duties under the transitional periods. we are now concerned with the measure for tasks, the economy, which means the livelihood of our people, security, peace and elections. we are all running the state a fair and consultative manner, not top to bottom orders. in addition,

speaking about security arrangements comes before the regular forces. this is the priority general. there are reports off, hundreds of people being killed and injured. several villers being burnt in west are 4. so what happened there, and what are your forces also involved in such act? oh, how are you near the mother? to begin with the figure hundreds is not true. lives were lost on both sides, military men and civilians. at the end of the day, they are all human beings. however, a maximum of 14 or 15 persons were killed on both sides. this happened because some did not honor the written undertakings of non aggression. the rap it's about 40 or linchpin 2 security guards in the country and the country men and they are not part of any conflict talking if some are accusing that up is support forces of any

violations lead them, prove it. are you going to run for president at the end of the transitional period in the elections of 2023 and her minute? her mental and also with our top priority now is to take our country to say shoal, to see a true transition to democracy. not empty slogans and to lead our people to free and transparent elections. we do not have any personal interests. we wish to brave the road to safety. especially we are surrounded by many trouble countries from libya with the appear. our key concern is to cruise to safety donald hama tom don douglas, thank you for helping companies. thank you very much. ah,

a less than a year. how will host the middle east 1st? well, come in preparation. the country is stage in a major, seth solomon with 16 nations going head to head in thanks, porpoise built stadiums for 2022 will keep you across the action. as council prepares for the region's biggest ever sporting events that be for our cup on al jazeera, there was since i was a little boy in india, my dream was to make body wood fence. so finally i was going to do it one man's quest to realize a lifelong ambition. this duty i chose was both my own village and get stones permission going behind the lens as got him saying, brings his personal story to life. al jazeera correspondent,

my own private bollywood. o reports of a foiled qu, ink against on we'll have the latest from the capital base gack. ah, don't know about this, and this is all it is here alive from dough hob also coming up a new corona virus variant in south africa countries ban flights. as scientists warn it could be even more resistant to vaccines from migrant crisis to political crisis. france counsels talks with the u. k over how to deal with the problem.