Coup d'état in Sudan: the country's prime minister in the hands of the army

Europe 1 with AFP 12:24, October 25, 2021

Sudan in chaos.

On Monday morning, the Sudanese army carried out a "coup" in the capital, Khartoum.

The armed forces have arrested civilian leaders, including Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok for his refusal to support their operation, the information ministry said after weeks of tension between the military and civilians who have shared power since 2019. The ministry also indicated that soldiers stormed the headquarters of the Sudanese state broadcasting company in Omdourman, a twin city of Khartoum only separated by a bridge over the Nile, and they are retaining employees, according to the ministry of Information.

Call to protest peacefully

"We call on the Sudanese people to protest by all possible peaceful means," said the Sudanese prime minister's office. This one is taken by the army towards an unknown destination. The Information Ministry added on Facebook that soldiers fired "live ammunition" at protesters outside army headquarters in central Khartoum, access to which is blocked by concrete blocks and soldiers for several days. State television in Sudan, stormed by soldiers, announced that General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, head of the Sudanese transition, would speak shortly.

It is a "military coup", denounces the Association of Professionals, one of the spearheads of the revolt of 2019 which ended 30 years of dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir in this country of East Africa, one of the poorest in the world.

With the union of doctors and banks, they call for civil disobedience in Khartoum already plunged into chaos, without the internet and with crowded streets wondering what new twist is coming in a country already shaken by a failed coup a month ago.

A coup denounced abroad

This coup attempt caused a reaction on the international scene. The arrests of civilian leaders in Sudan are "unacceptable", said UN envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes, saying he was "very worried about reports of a coup". "I call on the armed forces to immediately release the detainees", he adds while according to the Sudanese Ministry of Information, almost all the civilians within the transitional authorities are in the hands of "soldiers".

Germany "clearly condemned" this military action which "must cease immediately" to allow the continuation of a "peaceful political transition to democracy", according to a statement from the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The United States said it was "deeply concerned" by the situation.

While the Arab League said it was "concerned" by "developments" in the country, the African Union called for an "immediate resumption" of dialogue between civilians and military.