Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok has been taken into custody by the army there. He had refused to support the coup. The country’s Information Ministry has informed about the detention of Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok on Monday by the armed forces.
“While he refused to be part of the coup, an army force detained Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok and took him to an undisclosed location,” the ministry said in a statement.
Sudanese officials said military forces detained at least five senior government officials on Monday, while the Sudanese Professionals Association, the main party of the pro-democracy country, called on the public to take to the streets to protest a possible military coup Is.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, which is demanding a democratic government in Sudan, has said that internet and phone signals across the country are not working. The potential military coup would be a major blow to Sudan, which has been waiting for a democratic government since long-ruling former dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted by widespread protests. The arrest comes at a time when tensions between Sudan’s civilians and military leaders escalated just two weeks ago.
The coup attempt failed in September, and fueled extremely conservative Islamists who want a military government against those who ousted autocratic former ruler Omar al-Bashir after widespread protests. In the recent past, both the camps have been protesting heavily on the streets. Two officials on condition of anonymity confirmed the detention of five government officials.
Four-day meeting of top army commanders from today on the situation in LAC
Officials said the detained government workers included Industry Minister Ibrahim al-Sheikh, Information Minister Hamza Baloul and Mohamed al-Fiqi Suleiman, a member of the country’s ruling transitional body known as The Sovereign Council, and Faisal, media adviser to Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok. Mohamed Saleh is included.
According to media reports, security forces have been deployed outside Hamdok’s residence in the capital Khartoum. In pictures going viral online, soldiers are purportedly seen standing in the dark near his residence. Governor Ayman Khalid has also been arrested, according to the official Facebook page of Hamdok’s office.
US special envoy for Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia in the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, met with Sudanese military and civilian leaders on Saturday and Sunday as part of efforts to resolve the dispute after his arrest.
Sudan’s official news website highlighted meetings with military officials. Internet disruption monitoring group Netblox said it had noticed “disruptions” in the networks of several providers of fixed-line and mobile Internet connections in Sudan early Monday. “The Matrix user confirms the report that Internet network disruption is visible. This disruption is likely to limit the free flow of information online and coverage of ground situation news.
