Sudan’s Prime minister and many top government officials are in detention. The information ministry describes the events as a military coup. According to the ministry’s Facebook page, the internet in the country has been mostly shut down, and armed forces have barricaded bridges. Reports suggest Sudan Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s whereabouts are unknown. The country’s state news channel broadcast patriotic traditional music and Nile River pictures.
Separate appeals from the country’s major pro-democracy organisation and the largest political party ask citizens to take to the streets in response to the suspected military coup. Thousands of people poured into Khartoum and its twin city, Omdurman. Protestors are setting fire to tires while security officers used tear gas to disperse them, according to footage uploaded online. Early Monday, U.S. Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman states news of the military takeover has Washington “very worried.”
There is major tension between Sudan’s civilian and military leaders
The arrests on Monday come after weeks of escalating tensions. There is major tension between Sudan’s civilian and military leaders. A failed coup attempt in September splintered the country along traditional fault lines, pitting more conservative Islamists who demand military rule against those who overthrew al-Bashir in rallies. Both factions have taken to the streets in recent days in protests.
The Ministry’s Facebook page informs Hamdok is under capture. He is in an unknown location. Early on Monday, two officials confirmed that five government figures were being held. The officials in detention say the government ministers include Industry Minister Ibrahim al-Sheikh, Information Minister Hamza Baloul, and Mohammed al-Fiky Suliman. The Sovereign Council, and Faisal Mohammed Saleh, a media adviser to Hamdok. Ayman Khalid, governor of the state containing the capital, Khartoum, is under arrest.
After what it termed as a “complete military coup” perpetrated by the Sovereign Council’s leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the Sudanese Communist Party called for a strike and mass civil disobedience. “Metrics corroborate user reports of network disruptions appearing consistent with an internet shutdown,” the advocacy group says. “The disruption is likely to limit the free flow of information online and news coverage of incidents on the ground.”