Sudan prime minister arrested, military seizes power in apparent coup

In an apparent coup, the military in Sudan seized power just hours after troops arrested acting Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdokand other officials Monday. The takeover comes just weeks before the military was expected to hand the leadership of the Sovereign Council over to civilians.

“Civilian members of transitional Sovereign Council arrested, and a number of ministers in the transitional government, by joint military forces, and they have been taken to unknown locations,” the country’s information ministry said on Twitter. “Internet service, mobile networks cut off, and bridges have been closed by military forces.”

Later in the day Monday, military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan declared a state of emergency on national TV. He also said he was dissolving the government and the Sovereign Council.

“We are taking the steps that are preserving the path of the magnificent December revolution, until its final goals are achieved, in arriving at a completely civilian state, through free and transparent elections,” Burhan said. Those elections are set for July 2023.

The Sudan military coup also comes more than two years after protesters forced the ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir. The Sovereign Council was formed four months later.

Monday’s coup was met with mass protests. Thousands of people poured into the streets of the capital, Khartoum, and its twin city of Omdurman. The video above includes clips from protests in both cities.

Protesters blocked streets and set fire to tires. Chants of “The people are stronger, stronger” and “Retreat is not an option” could be heard and smoke filled the air.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters. According to the Sudanese Doctors Committee, at least 12 protesters were wounded in demonstrations.

The international community, including the United States, expressed concern over the Sudan military coup. U.S. special envoy to the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman said Washington was “deeply alarmed at reports of a military take-over of the transitional government”.

“This would contravene the Constitutional Declaration and the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people and is utterly unacceptable,” Feltman was quoted as saying in a tweet from the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs. “As we have said repeatedly, any changes to the transitional government by force puts at risk U.S. assistance.”

Feltman met with Sudanese officials over the weekend in an effort to resolve the growing dispute between civilian and military leaders.