The Sudanese information ministry has said the government is facing a coup d’etat, with the prime minister arrested and taken to an unknown location. Radio and TV studios in the capital have also been stormed by troops.
On Monday morning, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was detained by security forces and taken to an unknown location, according to the country’s information ministry in a Facebook post.
The update came just hours after Dubai-based Al-Hadath TV reported that troops had besieged the home of the prime minister and placed him under house arrest. According to the information ministry, the prime minister had refused to endorse the coup.
“After he refused to be a part of the coup, a force from the army detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and took him to an unidentified location,” the ministry said, adding that Hamdok had communicated during his house arrest, asking for people to hold the peace and occupy streets to protect the democratic transition.
In a subsequent Facebook post, the ministry said that troops had stormed the radio and TV headquarters in the Omdurman, the twin city of the capital Khartoum. A number of employees had been detained, they added.
In a statement shared with Reuters, the ministry reiterated the prime minister’s call for people to take to the streets and stop the military from preventing the country transitioning to democracy. “We invite everyone to continue the march until the coup attempt is brought down,” it said.
Also on rt.com
Sudanese police use tear gas as pro-military protesters try to block key roads in Khartoum
According to the prime minister’ aide, who spoke with al-Arabiya TV, the military had stirred unrest in the east of the country and used the crisis to implement a coup.
Industry Minister Ibrahim al-Sheikh, and the governor of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, Ayman Khalid, have also been detained by the military, according to family sources who spoke to Al Jazeera. Al-Sheikh’s daughter and Khalid’s wife told the news channel that the men were taken from their homes before dawn.
It has also been reported that communications have been cut in the country.
הפגנות ברחובות חרטום בעקבות עצירת שרי ממשלה וראש הממשלה בסודן 📍 👇#Sudan #Khartoum#السودان pic.twitter.com/JfDHuksQc1
— Fire News (@T_FireNews) October 25, 2021
Sudan’s long-time leader, Omar al-Bashir, was removed from power in 2019 following months of civil unrest and protests. A political transition agreement, penned after his removed, was meant to lead to democratic elections in 2023.
Since 2019, the country has been run by a Sovereign Council of military and civilian members tasked with overseeing the transition, however it has been far from smooth.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
