Total closure in Khartoum after deaths in protests
Roads and shops were closed, phone calls disrupted and queues spread in front of bakeries in Sudan on Tuesday, a day after the army seized power and dissolved the civilian government, leading to unrest in which at least seven people were killed.
All aspects of life disappeared in the Sudanese capital and the opposite city of Omdurman on the other bank of the Nile, and roads were closed either with army soldiers or with barriers set up by protesters.
The call for a general strike could be heard through loudspeakers in mosques.
It seems that the night passed relatively quietly after the unrest in the streets on Monday, when protesters came out after Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok was placed under house arrest and other civilian members of the Cabinet were arrested.
A Health Ministry official said seven people were killed in clashes between protesters and security forces.
The Commander-in-Chief of the army, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, announced the dissolution of the Sovereign Council, which includes civilian and military members, and was established to guide the country towards democracy following the overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising two years ago.
Al-Burhan also announced the imposition of a state of emergency, and said that the armed forces needed to protect security.
He promised to hold elections in July 2023 and hand over power to a civilian government at that time.
Today, Al-Burhan dissolved the committees responsible for running trade unions and professional associations, according to Arab news channels.
The Sudanese Ministry of Information, which remains loyal to ousted Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, said on its Facebook page that the transitional constitution does not give the right to declare a state of emergency except to the prime minister, and that the actions of the army are a crime.
She added that Hamdok is still the representative of the legitimate transitional authority.
Military vehicles closed the main roads and the bridge between Khartoum and Omdurman.
Banks closed, automated teller machines (ATMs) stopped working, and mobile phone apps widely used to transfer money.
Some bakeries opened their doors in Omdurman, but people had to stand in queues for several hours, longer than usual.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, which was a coalition of activists in the uprising against Bashir's rule, called for the strike.
The Ministry of Information said that Hamdok was arrested and transferred on Monday to an unknown location after he refused to issue a statement in support of the coup against the city.
The army also arrested other government figures and civilian members of the Sovereign Council.
Western governments condemned the coup, called for the release of detained civilian leaders, and threatened to cut off the aid that Sudan needs to get out of its economic crisis.
The United States said it would immediately stop delivering $700 million in exceptional aid to Sudan.
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