Sudan’s military ousted its civilian-led transition government in Khartoum in a coup on Monday, weeks before the deadline for the total handover to the civilian government. Subsequently, thousands of protesters stormed the streets of capital city Khartoum and neighbouring city Omdurman; resultant military retaliation killed seven and injured 140 people, according to a health ministry official.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s power-sharing “sovereign council,” has dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency after arresting Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
Sudan’s military was ruling the country in a partnership with a civilian-led transition government after ending autocrat Omar al-Bashir’s thirty-year rule in 2019.
Burhan justified the military’s actions as a way to ensure stability, which was jeopardised due to infighting between the military and civilian parties. In a statement, he said, “The armed forces will continue completing the democratic transition until the handover of the country’s leadership to a civilian, elected government.” Burhan added that an “independent and fair representative government” would be in power until a government is elected in 2023.
In a statement on Facebook, Sudan’s Information Ministry called Burhan’s actions “a seizure of power by a military coup.” It asserted that Prime Minister Hamdok “is still the legitimate transitional authority in the country.”
Meanwhile, the United States (US), the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the African Union (AU) issued separate statements condemning the military’s actions in Khartoum.
In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “strongly condemned” the actions of Sudan’s military and called for the “immediate restoration of the civilian-led transitional government and its associated institutions,” along with the immediate release of Prime Minister Hamdok and other civilian leaders. The statement also emphasised that the “US is immediately pausing the delivery of $700 million in emergency Economic Support Funds to Sudan, which were intended to support the country’s democratic transition, while we evaluate next steps.”
Likewise, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for “the immediate reconstitution of the governing arrangements provided for under the Constitutional Document.” He urged the stakeholders in Sudan to “return to dialogue and engage in good faith to restore the constitutional order and Sudan’s transitional process.”
In September, Sudanese officials successfully thwarted a coup attempt by supporters of former president Omar al-Bashir. Tensions owing to power-sharing have been rife since Bashir was ousted. However, Monday’s coup is the most authoritative move by the military since 2019 and comes in light of Hamdok’s announcement last week that a complete transition to civilian rule should be in place in Sudan by November 17.
Sudanese Military Ousts PM Hamdok in Coup, 7 killed, 140 Injured in Ensuing Protests
The civilian-led transition government in Khartoum was stripped of its powers weeks before total handover.
October 26, 2021
SOURCE: AFP