Cairo — Sudan’s information ministry said on Monday that the country’s interim Prime Minister, Abdulla Hamdok, was placed under house arrest as a military coup unfolded in the northeast African nation. After he refused to be a part of the coup, the army detained Hamdok and took him to an unidentified location, the ministry said in a statement cited by the AFP news agency.
Earlier, the ministry said military forces had detained a number of senior Sudanese government figures as the country’s main pro-democracy group called on people to take to the streets to counter the apparent coup.
A full military takeover would be a major setback for Sudan, which has grappled with a transition to democracy since long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir was toppled by mass protests more than two years ago. Sudan has been run for several years by a civilian-military transitional government.
The Reuters news agency cited sources as saying soldiers had arrested most cabinet members and many pro-government party leaders.
U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman said Washington was “deeply alarmed” over the reports of the military takeover, adding that it puts U.S. assistance “at risk.” Feltman’s reaction, the first from the Biden administration, was posted on the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs Twitter page:
The information ministry said the internet had been cut off and military forces closed key bridges. The country’s state-run news channel played patriotic traditional music and showed scenes of the Nile River.
The Umma Party, the country’s largest political party, described the arrests as an attempted coup, and called on people to take to the streets in resistance. Earlier, the Sudanese Professionals’ Association, a group leading demands for a transition to democracy, issued a similar call.
Monday’s arrests cam after weeks of rising tensions between Sudan’s civilian and military leaders.
A failed coup attempt in September fractured the country along old lines, pitting more-conservative Islamists who want a military government against those who toppled al-Bashir. In recent days, both camps have taken to the street in demonstrations.
Under Hamdok and the transitional council, Sudan has slowly emerged from years of international pariah status under al-Bashir. The country was removed from the United States’ state supporter of terror list in 2020, opening the door for badly needed international loans and investment. The country’s economy has struggled with the shock of a number economic reforms called for by international lending institutions.
In addition to the remark from Feltman and the U.S., the United Nations and the Arab League also voiced “deep concern” over the military’s apparent bid to wrest full control from the transitional council in Sudan on Monday.
There have been previous military coups in Sudan since it gained its independence from Britain and Egypt in 1956. Al-Bashir came to power in a 1989 military coup that removed the country’s last elected government.
Monday’s arrests followed meetings Feltman had with Sudanese military and civilian leaders Saturday and Sunday in efforts to resolve the dispute. Sudan’s state news website highlighted the meetings with military officials.
The Sudanese Communist Party called on workers to go on strike and for mass civil disobedience after what it described as a “full military coup” orchestrated by the Sovereign Council’s head Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.
NetBlocks, a group that tracks disruptions across the internet, said it had seen a “significant disruption” to both fixed-line and mobile internet connections across Sudan with multiple providers early Monday.
“Metrics corroborate user reports network disruptions appearing consistent with an internet shutdown,” the advocacy group said. “The disruption is likely to limit the free flow of information online and news coverage of incidents on the ground.”
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