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General Abdul-Fattah Burhan announced the dissolution of the country’s ruling sovereign committee
Sudan’s main general declared a state of emergency on Monday. A few hours ago, his troops arrested the acting prime minister and disrupted the Internet in an apparent coup as the country was about to transition to civilian leadership as planned.
In a televised speech, General Abdul-Fattah Burhan announced that he would disband the country’s ruling sovereign committee and the government led by Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok. He said that quarrels between political factions prompted the military to intervene, and a new technocratic government would lead the country in elections.
Thousands protested against the apparent military takeover
In response, thousands of people poured into the streets of the capital Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman to protest the apparent military takeover. The video shared online appeared to show protesters blocking streets and setting tires on fire as security forces used tear gas to disperse them.
Protesters can be heard chanting “The people are stronger and stronger” and “Retreat is not an option!” When the smoke fills the air. Videos on social media showed large crowds crossing the bridge over the Nile to reach the center of the capital.
According to the Sudanese Medical Council, at least 12 protesters were injured in the demonstration, but did not provide details.
The military takeover will be a major setback for Sudan. Since the long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir was overthrown by mass protests two years ago, Sudan has been working hard to achieve a stop-and-go transition to democracy.
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These moves come less than a month before Burhan is expected to hand over the leadership of the ruling transitional committee to civilians. The Sovereign Council, which has governed the country shortly after Bashir’s step down, includes military and civilian members, and they often disagree about Sudan’s course and the pace of the transition to democracy.
U.S. and EU express concern
The United States and the European Union expressed concern about developments on Monday.
US Horn of Africa special envoy Jeffrey Feltman said Washington was “deeply shocked” by these reports. Feltman met with Sudanese officials over the weekend to resolve the growing dispute between civilian and military leaders. The head of EU foreign affairs, Joseph Borrell, said on Twitter that he was “extremely concerned” about the incident.
Before dawn on Monday, the first reports of a possible military takeover began to spread from Sudan. By noon in the morning, the Ministry of Information confirmed that Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok had been arrested and taken to an undisclosed location. The ministry said in a Facebook post that several senior government officials have also been detained. It said their whereabouts are unknown.
Hamdock’s office said in a Facebook statement that he and his wife were detained early on Monday as part of a so-called “complete coup.”
Among other signs of the acquisition, Internet access was widely interrupted, and the country’s national news channel played patriotic traditional music. The Ministry of Information said that on one occasion, the army rushed into the office of the Sudanese state-run television station in Omdurman and detained some workers.
September coup attempted
Monday’s apparent takeover came after several weeks of tensions between Sudan’s civilian and military leaders. The attempted coup in September attempted to divide the country along the old route, causing more conservative Islamists who wanted the military government to clashed with those who overthrew Bashir in protests. In recent days, both camps have taken to the streets to demonstrate.
After the attempted coup in September, the generals slammed the civilian members of the transitional power structure and called for the dissolution of the Hamdok government. The Sovereign Council is the ultimate decision maker, although the task of the Hamdok government is to manage the daily affairs of Sudan.
Burhan, who leads the committee, warned in a television commentary last month that the military would only transfer power to a government elected by the Sudanese people. His comments indicate that he may not follow the previously agreed timetable, which requires the Council to be led by a military figure for 21 months, followed by a civilian for 18 months. According to the plan, the handover will take place sometime in November, and the new civilian leaders will be elected by the unions and political parties that led the opposition to the Bashir uprising.
Since Bashir was forced to step down, Sudan has slowly got rid of its status as an international untouchable for many years. The country was removed from the US list of supporters of national terrorism in 2020, opening the door to much-needed foreign loans and investment. But the country’s economy has been struggling to cope with the impact of a series of economic reforms required by international lending institutions.
Sudan political crisis
Since independence from Britain and Egypt in 1956, Sudan has also experienced other coups. Bashir came to power in one such takeover in 1989, and the country’s last elected government was dissolved.
According to two officials who asked not to be named, five senior government figures were among those detained on Monday because they did not have the right to share information with the media.
They include Industry Minister Ibrahim al-Sheikh, Information Minister Hamza Baloul and Sovereign Council member Mohammed al-Fiky Suliman, and Hamdok’s media adviser Faisal Mohammed Saleh. According to the official Facebook page of his office, Ayman Khalid, the governor of the state where the capital is located, was also arrested.
After news of the arrest spread, the country’s main democratic groups and two political parties issued appeals for Sudanese to take to the streets.
In one of the factions, the Communist Party called on workers to carry out mass civil disobedience strikes after the “full military coup” planned by Burhan.
The African Union calls for the release of all Sudanese political leaders, including Hamdok. “Dialogue and consensus are the only relevant ways to save the country and its democratic transition,” said Mousafaki, chairman of the African Union Commission.
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