According to reports, armed soldiers in Sudan have launched an offensive against members of the country’s caretaker government, raising fears of yet another military coup in a country plagued by political unrest.
According to local reports, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was taken into custody by soldiers on Monday morning after an unknown group of soldiers stormed his home. Sudanese forces also detained five Transitional Sovereignty Council ministers, including four military members and one civilian, according to Al Hadath TV.
In an overnight military coup, soldiers seize power.
A media aide to Mr Hamdok was also reportedly arrested, according to Reuters, in a plot that came just a month after the country’s attempted coup d’état. On Monday morning, the military’s latest move to remove Mr Hamdok, who took power in 2019, from power sparked outrage. Citizens should take to the streets to oppose any military coup, according to the Sudanese Professionals Association.
On Monday, there were also reports of internet outages in Khartoum’s capital, which were confirmed by web infrastructure monitors Netblocks.
“Internet disrupted in #Sudan amid reports of a military coup and the detention of the Prime Minister; real-time network data show national connectivity at 34% of normal levels; incident ongoing,” the group tweeted. On Sunday, pro-military protesters blocked entrances to the capital, leading to the apparent takeover of power on Monday. Since Omar al-ouster Bashir’s in 2019, the military and civilians have shared power, and last month’s attempted coup was largely blamed on soldiers loyal to Mr Bashir, who has been charged with war crimes. Jeffrey Feltman, the US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, met with military and civilian leaders in Khartoum on Saturday, urging them to reach a power-sharing agreement.
Following today’s coup, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, is expected to assume absolute power. Mr. Al-Burhan expressed his willingness to resolve all crises threatening the power-sharing agreement and work with civilians to restore democratic order during his Saturday meeting with Mr. Feltman. The development in Sudan occurred less than two months after soldiers led a successful takeover of power in Guinea on September 5, putting an end to President Alpha Conde’s long reign.
Chadian soldiers staged a bloody coup in April, assassinating President Idriss Déby and seizing power. Military coups are condemned by the African Union as antiquated, undemocratic, and dangerous, but the regional bloc has been to hold the perpetrators of the coups accountable.
Source: ejesgist.com
