Thousands of Sudanese mourn the former president

November 5, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — Tens of thousands of Sudanese mourners lined the streets of Khartoum Wednesday for the funeral of a former president in a potent show of strength for one of Sudan’s strongest opposition parties.

Ahmed Al-Mirghani who was latest democratically designated president of Sudan from 1986 to 1989, died on Sunday in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, where he had lived.

Draped in the Sudanese flag, Mirghani’s coffin was carried on the shoulders of military officers, saluted by an honour guard and received by Vice President Ali Osman Taha at Khartoum airport after being flown from Egypt.

The body of Ahmed Al-Mirghani arrived today in Khartoum and was transportrd to the family crypt in the Khartoum North where it was buried.

The funeral also saw the return of Mohamed Osman Al-Mirghani, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. Thousands chanted his nickname, Abu Hashim, as they followed the funeral procession from the airport through the city.

This sad occasion was considered by some leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party as an opportunity to speed up the party’s reunification, amid the growing popular disaffection of the embattled President Omer Al-Bashir who also attended the funerals.

The funeral was attended by senior government officials, leaders and prominent figures of the political parties and the Sudanese society, members of the diplomatic corps, leaders of the Sufi sects and Islamic and Christian religious leaders.

(ST)