IRIA News

Sudan’s Army Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ordered the arrest of cabinet members and pro-government party leaders on Monday in a military coup, throwing a transition towards democracy into disarray.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan defended the military’s seizure of power and said that he had ousted the government in order to avoid civil war in the country.

On October 25, Sudan’s Information Ministry said in a message that Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was arrested and moved to an unknown location after refusing to issue a statement in support of an ongoing military coup. However, he and his wife were allowed released and returned home on Tuesday.

According to reports, at least five other senior government officials were also arrested by the security forces, including Information Minister Hamza Baloul, Industry Minister Ibrahim al-Sheikh, Sudan’s ruling sovereign council member Mohammed al-Fiky Suliman, Governor of the State Ayman Khalid, and prime minister’s media advisor Faisal Mohammed Saleh.

The video footage showed that protesters passed by the soldiers guarding the area as they marched down the street. Sudan’s Information Ministry claimed that protesters faced gunfire near the military headquarters.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said on Monday that at least three people had died and more than 80 others were injured in clashes.

The civilian and military leaders of Sudan have had disagreements on many issues since long-time military ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown from office in 2019 and the transitional government was set up in the country.

Sudan’s Information Ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page that detentions were carried out by “joint military forces” and those arrested were being held in “an unidentified location”.

The statement also claimed that the soldiers stormed into the state broadcaster headquarters in Omdurman and arrested the staff.

The message also contained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s appeal to the people to hold peaceful protests to “defend the revolution” in the country.

The Sudanese Professionals Association – an activist coalition that played its part during the revolution against Omar al-Bashir – called on supporters to mobilize after what it called the arrest of cabinet members.

“We urge the masses to go out on the streets and occupy them, close all roads with barricades, stage a general labor strike, and not to cooperate with the putschists and use civil disobedience to confront them,” the group said in a statement on Facebook.

Witnesses said that the army and paramilitary troops have been deployed across the city and the Khartoum airport is closed and all international flights have been suspended. There were also reports that the internet was down in several parts of the country.

Sudan’s ambassadors to the U.S., Canada, China, France, Belgium, South Africa, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Turkey, Sweden, and the European Union and United Nations denounced the military takeover and signed on to the statement that supported resistance to the coup.

Last week, protestors and several government cabinet ministers held protests in several cities against the prospect of military rule. While a coalition of rebel groups and political parties aligned themselves with the military in support of dissolving the civilian government.

Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for Sudan, Volker Perthes said in a statement that the United Nations was deeply concerned about reports of a coup and attempts to undermine Sudan’s political transition.

Sudan’s military coup comes days after the U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman visited the country to meet military and civilian leaders. The Department of State spokesperson Ned Price denied that the U.S. had prior knowledge about the military takeover in the country.

“The civilian-led transitional government should be immediately restored and represents the will of the people,” the U.S. Department of State spokesperson said in a statement.

The United States also announced that it suspended $700m in aid to Sudan after a military takeover.