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Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok “is still the legitimate transitional authority in the country” the Ministry of Information said in a statement posted on its Facebook page late Monday. The Ministry also claimed the prime minister was “kidnapped” along with a number of his ministers.
Sudan’s military dissolved its power-sharing government and declared a state of emergency Monday, catapulting the country into its biggest political crisis in its two-year-old transition.
The coup comes after months of rising tensions in the country, where military and civilian groups have shared power in a shaky transitional coalition, called the Sovereign Council, since former President Omar al-Bashir was ousted from power in 2019.
The Ministry of Information statement late Monday added that the transitional constitution gives only the prime minister the right to declare a state of emergency and that the military’s actions are a crime punishable by law.
The ministry statement added the government welcomed the positions taken by the United Nations secretary-general, the African Union, and the Arab League against a military coup in Sudan.
Last week, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said a full transition to civilian rule should be in place in Sudan by Nov. 17, echoing the voices of thousands of Sudanese protesters who took to the streets to demand that the promise of Sudan’s pro-democracy movement be honored. But on Monday the prime minister and multiple government ministers and officials were arrested.
The United States is pausing $700 million in emergency assistance to Sudan in the wake of a military takeover in the country, State Department spokesperson Ned Price announced Monday.
“In light of these developments, the United States is pausing assistance from the $700 million in emergency assistance appropriations of economic support funds for Sudan. Those funds were intended to support the country’s democratic transition as we evaluate the next step for Sudan programming,” he said.
“Our entire relationship with this entity in Sudan will be evaluated in light of what has transpired, unless Sudan is returned to the transitional path,” Price added.
Price said the US recognizes “the legitimate grievances about the pace of the transition, but Sovereign Council Chair Burhan’s dismissal of government officials and dissolution of government institutions both violates Sudan’s constitutional declaration and abandon the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people.”
Price said that the US would typically undertake a coup determination – an official designation has implications for aid – but noted that Sudan has been subject to military coup restrictions since the 1989 coup.
The spokesperson said the US was not given a heads up about the military takeover. Jeffery Feltman, special envoy for the Horn of Africa, was just in Khartoum on Saturday and met jointly with Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
Price said the State Department has not been in touch with Hamdok since his arrest.
“We have been in close touch with partners and allies, both in the region and well beyond,” Price said. “We are very closely coordinating our messaging, our approach, our actions vis a vis what we’ve seen transpire in Sudan over the last 16 hours or so.”
“And if it would be constructive for us to be in touch with actors, including elements of the military in Sudan, we would do that, but I’m not going to read out any of those overtures or diplomatic conversations,” he said.
The United Nations coordinator in Sudan, Volker Perthes, said there were warnings that a coup could happen.
Speaking during a virtual meeting with UN reporters in New York, Perthes stated that military leaders increased their criticism of the civilian part of the power-sharing government in recent weeks blasting “party politicians.”
Perthes told reporters he discussed the military takeover with a military leader Sunday who promised a dialogue would be favorable, however, the coup is underway.
He called on the military rulers to release prisoners and use restraint and he stressed the UN could offer mediation, though he noted the UN is not a “stick-wielding association.
Perthes told reporters that he can see barricades burning and can hear occasional gunshots outside of his window from Khartoum.
Perthes also added that UN staff feels comfortable during the coup and the situation is between Sudanese stakeholders, not the international community.
The US Embassy in Khartoum called on the Sudanese military “to immediately cease violence, release detained officials, and ensure the safety of Sudanese citizens demonstrating for democratic and civilian leadership.”
Sudan’s military dissolved its power-sharing government and declared a state of emergency Monday, catapulting the country into its biggest political crisis in its two-year-old transition.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief has condemned the coup in Sudan, calling it a “betrayal of the revolution,” he said in a statement on Monday.
“The right of peaceful protest must be respected; violence and bloodshed must be avoided at all cost; we also urge communication networks to be open,” he added.
Borrell went on to say the European Union would continue to support those who are working for “a democratic Sudan with a fully legitimate civilian government ensuring peace, freedom and justice for the Sudanese people.”
“This remains the best guarantee for the long-term stability of the country and the broader regions,” he added.
Sudan’s supporters of the civilian competent of the now-dissolved Sovereign Council have announced civil disobedience and a strike in response to the military takeover, the Ministry of Information said on Facebook.
The Sudanese Professional Association [SPA], a body that helped organize the 2019 Sudan uprising, denounced the military takeover and denounced an earlier announcement by the army chief, Abdelfattah Al Burhan, where he declared a state of emergency, dissolved the Sovereign Council and government.
“[Al Burhan’s] reckless decisions will increase the ferocity of the resistance and the unity of the street, after all illusions of partnership are removed and the fig leaf has fallen,” a statement by the SPA said.
“Let us make disobedience a response to al-Burhan’s nonsense, and to break the state of emergency today with crowds and activities,” the statement said.
The United Kingdom has called the coup in Sudan an “unacceptable betrayal of the Sudanese people,” the British government’s Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford, tweeted on Monday.
“Today’s military coup in Sudan is an unacceptable betrayal of the Sudanese people and their democratic transition,” Ford said.
Ford added security forces must release Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who has been taken to an undisclosed location along with other civilian leaders.
The White House said the Biden administration is “deeply alarmed” about the coup unfolding in Sudan.
Jean-Pierre called the actions in “stark opposition to the will of the Sudanese people” and reiterated calls for a “democratic transition in Sudan.”
She did not directly address a question as to whether President Biden had been briefed on the matter.
Where things stand in Sudan: As CNN has reported, the country’s prime minister has been arrested in a military takeover and taken to an undisclosed location, a senior adviser said. A military officer dissolved Sudan’s ruling council and transitional government, and declared a state of emergency across the country.
The coup has been condemned by the United Nations, and the US Embassy in Sudan is advising US citizens “to shelter in place and remain aware of their surroundings” following the coup.
The US Embassy in Sudan is advising US citizens “to shelter in place and remain aware of their surroundings” following a coup in the country
In a security alert posted Monday, the Embassy said it “has received reports that armed forces are blocking certain areas in and around Khartoum” and “internet in Khartoum is non-functional.”
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres condemned the ongoing military coup in Sudan, and called for the release of the prime minister and other officials, he said in a tweet Monday
He said the UN would “continue to stand” with the people of the country.
An aide and office director of Sudan’s now-arrested Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok told CNN that the premier was aware of army plans and was under pressure to dissolve the government.
The adviser, Adam al-Hireika, said that he visited Hamdok on Sunday evening where he discussed the current state-of-affairs. Hamdok had just met with army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who declared the coup on state-TV on Monday.
“This morning, when I heard about what happened I went to the PM’s residence, he is my boss and friend. I went to his residence unfortunately he wasn’t there. His wife and him were taken to an unknown destination by soldiers,” he added.
Burhan said in a statement that power-shared council and government were dissolved and declared a state of emergency after a balanced power-sharing agreement with the civilian component “became a conflict” over the past two years, “threatening peace and unity” in Sudan.
“What, General Burhan mentions in his address, actually what most of a lot of it was agreed between the two parties, but as the PM stood very strongly against dissolving the government without a process. I think that was the biggest issue of contention,” Hireika said.
Hireika warned of a civil war in Sudan if there was a return to military rule.
“Well, I think the bigger picture, a return to military rule will mean more civil war in Sudan and instability in the region as a result,” he added.
Amnesty International has urged the authorities in Sudan “to respect human rights” following the arrest of the country’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other officials in an apparent coup.
Amnesty International “calls on the authorities in Sudan to respect human rights—including the right to life, right to freedom of association, expression and assembly, both offline and on the internet. The right to peaceful protest must be respected, now more than ever.”
In a military takeover on Monday morning, Sudan’s armed forces dissolved a governing council that included civilians and detained the prime minister and other civilian officials, endangering the country’s transition to democracy.
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Sudan’s military dissolved its power-sharing government and announced a state of emergency on Monday, after soldiers arrested Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, his wife and other senior civilian officials, throwing the country into the biggest crisis of its two-year-old democratic transition.
The military takeover comes after weeks of deepening political chaos in the country, where military and civilian groups have been sharing power in an uneasy alliance, dubbed the Sovereign Council, since the ouster of former president Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
The triumphant mood that swept the nation after Bashir’s removal – ending his brutal three-decade-long rule – has soured, with tensions over power-sharing boiling over into protests and contributing to instability.
Tensions ratcheted up as politicians, including Hamdok, pushed for a full transition to civilian rule by November 17.
A failed coup attempt in late September, attributed to forces loyal to Bashir, further strained the already shaky coalition.
In the weeks since, military leaders have been demanding reforms to the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition and the replacement of the cabinet. Civilian leaders accused them of a power grab.
Throngs of Sudanese protesters took to the streets last Thursday to demand that the transition agreed after the 2019 pro-democracy movement be honored and an elected government be delivered to the people.
Sudan’s head of the armed forces said the power-sharing agreement with civilian members of the country’s transitional sovereign council “became a conflict” over the past two years, “threatening peace and unity” in Sudan.
“This has caused the military, as the founding authority of the [transitional phase], and stemming from the national responsibility, to protect the safety and security of this country,” General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who headed up the council, said.
“We felt an obligation as the military, the Rapid Support Forces and other security apparatus in the country to see the danger, and take steps to protect the advantages of December’s Revolution,” Burhan added.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called for an immediate end to the attempted coup in Sudan, in a statement published Monday.
“The reports about another attempted coup in Sudan are distressing, the attempt is to be clearly condemned,” the statement reads.
“I call on everyone, who is responsible for security and state order in Sudan, to continue the peaceful political transition process towards a democracy in Sudan and to respect the will of the people. This attempted coup has to be stopped immediately.”
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a military officer who headed Sudan’s Sovereign Council, a joint military-civilian power-sharing ruling body, dissolved the council and the transitional government, announcing a state of emergency across the country.
In a televised statement, al-Burhan announced that an “independent and fair representative government” will assume power until one is elected in 2023.
Several articles of the constitution were suspended and state governors were removed, al-Burhan said.
Bullets were fired at protesters demonstrating an apparent coup outside Sudan’s military headquarters in the capital Khartoum on Monday, the Ministry of Information said on Facebook.
The Ministry of Information said that there were casualties, but did not clarify how many or who was shooting at demonstrators.
Hundreds of people made their way towards the military’s General Command following reports of an apparent coup on Monday, according to multiple social media videos. Some could be seen removing razor wire that had been placed across a road amid reports of street closures in several parts of the city.
Among the chants of the protestors: “We are walking holding worry in our hearts and worry sleeps in people’s chests.”
In several videos that appear to have been filmed close to army headquarters, crowds are seen running in panic, but it’s unclear why. Some media reported gunfire in the area, but CNN has been unable to confirm this.
The African Union chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has called for the release of Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Hamdok and other officials arrested in an apparent coup.
Protesters in Sudan have blocked three main bridges in the capital Khartoum, an eyewitness in the city told CNN.
One of the blockaded bridges connects Omdurman city to the capital and leads to the presidential palace. Security forces fired tear gas near the bridge briefly to disperse the protesters, the eyewitness said.
Security forces, including members of the military and a powerful paramilitary unit called the Rapid Support Force, were patrolling the streets, the eyewitness added.
