Sudan: FBI joins investigation into failed bombing of Abdallah Hamdok

Security forces at the scene of the failed attack on Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. March 9, 2020. REUTERS / Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

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The US FBI will assist in the investigation into the failed attack on Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok earlier this week. The PM convoy was targeted Monday morning by an explosion and automatic weapons fire in Khartoum. Abdallah Hamdok escaped unscathed. And the attack was not claimed. The Sudanese government spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that an FBI team had arrived the same morning to join the Sudanese investigators.

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Few details leaked from the survey. The government has simply confirmed that several suspects have been arrested, including foreigners, and that the explosion was caused by a " homemade device by the roadside ".

According to the Sudanese Minister of Information, the FBI team is made up of three people. The use of these investigators is explained by " the expertise and techniques available to them in this type of case ".

Supporters of Omar el Béchir suspected

The assassination attempt was not claimed, but the following day, several measures announced by the government suggest that suspicion was directed towards sympathizers of the former regime of Omar el Bashir.

The government notably announced that a branch of the security services - close to the former leader - would be placed under the direct control of the civilian government. And that more power would be given to a committee charged with dismantling the old regime. A new unit responsible for internal security has also been set up. Its function is to apprehend members of terrorist groups, or illegal organizations which, according to the government, are trying to thwart the revolution.

For some analysts, the sending of an FBI team to Sudan, a country which is still on its list of sponsors of terrorism, is unprecedented and shows how much Washington wants this democratic transition to be a success.

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  • Sudan
  • United States
  • Abdalla Hamdok