Sudanese authorities said they foiled an attempted coup on Tuesday by plotters loyal to ousted President Omar Al-Bashir. The failed coup was planned as the fragile transitional government agreed to hand over Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) last month to face charges of mass atrocities committed in Darfur during his regime.
Sudan’s military said 21 officers suspected of plotting the coup were arrested, and many soldiers were detained. It added that the army was in control of all affected areas and was continuing its search for others involved.
According to officials, the plotters tried to take control of the state media building in the city of Omdurman, not far from the capital Khartoum. Furthermore, witnesses said military units used tanks to cross a bridge connecting Omdurman with Khartoum. However, state media reported that those responsible had been arrested and were being interrogated. It noted that the army was dealing with the last remnants of rebellion at the Al Shajara camp in Khartoum. Additionally, Defence Minister Yasin Ibrahim said the coup leader, General Abdalbagi Alhassan Othman Bakrawi, had also been detained.
Reacting to the developments, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said the thwarted coup “targeted the revolution and all the achievements of our great people, to undermine the democratic transition to a civilian government, and to close the way to the movement of history. However, as usual, the determination of our people was stronger.” “What happened was an orchestrated coup by parties inside and outside the armed forces. It was another attempt of the remnants of the former regime to abort the civil democratic transition,” he added.
Saying that the incident “confirms the need to reform the security and military apparatus,” Hamdok called for a “complete, clear and transparent review of the transition process, and the realisation of a partnership based on the principles of the revolution.” He also urged the Sudanese people “to exercise their right by all peaceful means” and “support the transitional government and fortify the transition.”
Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan praised the officers and soldiers for preventing the coup and controlling the situation. He said their resolve “spared the country bloodshed” and vowed that the military would stand by the people and protect Sudan’s democratic transition.
Meanwhile, the attempted coup was condemned by the international community, including the United Nations (UN), the United States (US), and the European Union (EU). UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the coup undermines Sudan’s political transition and will jeopardise the hard-earned progress made on the political and economic fronts. Similarly, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said such “anti-democratic actions […] undermine the call of the Sudanese people for freedom and justice.”
The attempts to overthrow the Sudanese government came as Sudan agreed to hand over Bashir to the ICC in August to stand trial on charges of mass atrocities, including genocide and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. The ICC has pushed Sudan to hand over Bashir and others responsible for the Darfur genocide for a long time. In 2008, the ICC accused Bashir of committing genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur, and the following year it issued an arrest warrant for Bashir for his role in the conflict, marking the first time the ICC sought the arrest of a sitting head of state.
In 2019, Bashir was ousted in a military coup following large-scale protests demanding his removal and was replaced by a military-civilian transitional government led by PM Hamdok. Sudan’s transitional government has been wary of the possibility of another coup, especially by Bashir’s loyalists in the military. There have been several plots since 2019 to topple the transitional government, but they were all foiled before they could be executed.