There have been reports from Sudan about the detention of several government officials and a possible coup – SME.sk

KAHIRA / CHARTUM. The President of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, General Abdal Fattáh Burhan, dissolved on Monday this body acting as the collective head of state, as well as the government cabinet. At the same time, he declared a state of emergency and announced the formation of a “competent” government.

According to the Sudanese Ministry of Information, the general confirmed in his statement that the army had carried out a coup. The AP and AFP agencies informed about it.

At the same time, the general assured the international community that his new government would keep its promise of transformation into a civilian government.

He said this only a few hours after the Sudanese army, according to the local information ministry, detained most of the civilian representatives of the cabinet and the said council, including Prime Minister Abdall Hamdok.

Burhan has also pledged to create new state institutions, including the Supreme Court, and said Sudan would abide by the international agreements it has ratified.

Shooting at protesters

The soldiers opened fire on people protesting against the “military coup” before the general’s announcement, the local information ministry said.

“Military forces have fired live ammunition at protesters who rejected a military coup in front of the army’s headquarters,” the ministry said in a statement on Facebook, adding that reports of victims were expected.

Sudanese Prime Minister Hamdok’s office, meanwhile, has called on Sudanese to disobey.

“We call on the Sudanese people to protest and use all available peaceful means to win their revolution back from the hands of thieves,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

According to AP sources, at least five government officials are detained, including two ministers, a member of the governing council, an adviser to the prime minister and the governor of Khartoum.

Calls to end the coup

The events in Sudan, meanwhile, have been condemned by the UN, the EU, the League of Arab States, the African Union and Germany, AFP and AP reported.

The United Nations has called on the Sudanese Armed Forces to immediately release the “wrongfully detained” officials of the Transitional Government.

“I am deeply concerned by reports of an ongoing coup and attempts to jeopardize political transformation in Sudan. The detention of the Prime Minister, government officials and politicians is unacceptable,” said UN Special Representative for Sudan Volker Perthes.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter that he was following the situation in Khartoum with “extreme concern”. On behalf of the Union, he called on “all stakeholders and regional partners” to help restore Sudan’s process of democracy to democracy.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also said, calling on the military to “immediately end” the coup attempt.

In the meantime, the League of Arab States has also expressed “deep concern” over the events in this African country. On Monday, Ahmad Abul Ghajt, its secretary general, called on all parties to the Sudanese conflict to abide by the August 2019 agreement, which formed the current transitional government of Sudan.

African Union (AU) President Moussa Faki Mahamat also called for an immediate resumption of talks between Sudanese civilian government officials and the military.

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Unsuccessful coup attempt

In September, Sudan failed in a coup attempt that re-divided the country and pits more conservative Islamists who are demanding a military government against those who overthrew longtime autocratic President Umar Bashir in 2019 after mass protests.

In recent days, demonstrations by supporters of both camps have taken place in the streets.

Last weekend, the US Special Envoy for the so-called Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman meets with Sudanese military officials and civilian leaders in an effort to resolve growing disputes.