KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan’s newly appointed prime minister on Monday sacked the head of the Maritime Ports Authority amid workers’ strike at Port Sudan, a Red Sea port in eastern Sudan.

According to state-run Sudan News Agency (SUNA), Mohamed Tahir Ayala, who was sworn in as prime minister on Sunday, sacked Jalaluddin Mohammed Ahmed Shalia, director general of the Maritime Ports Authority.

Last Monday, port workers continued a strike to protest a leasing deal recently signed by the government that would, if implemented, allow a foreign company to assume responsibility for the port’s operations.

The Sudanese government had signed a concession contract with the Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Company allowing the latter to operate the port for a 20-year period.