On Monday morning, Sudan’s armed forces detained the prime minister and other top civilian officials, dissolving the government, claiming power and declaring a state of emergency.
The coup follows months of rising tensions in the country. The transitional coalition, called the Sovereign Council, has ruled the country since former president Omar al-Bashir was ousted from power in 2019.
Al-Bashir is one of 28 defendants who stand accused of plotting the 1989 Islamist-backed military coup, which toppled the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and brought al-Bashir to power. Al-Bashir has been in jail in Khartoum after he was ousted amid a slew of mass protests.
Last week, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced a full transition to civilian rule should be in place by Nov. 17. He has been placed under house arrest at an undisclosed location, per CNN.
The Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), which led the protests against al-Bashir in 2019, has since split into two opposing factions.
“The current crisis is artificial — and is taking the form of a creeping coup,” FFC leader Yasser Arman said at a press conference in the capital Khartoum on Saturday according to AfricaNews. “We renew our confidence in the government, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, and in the reform of the transitional institutions, but without order or imposition.”
The United States special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, met with Hamdokto on Saturday to solidify the Biden administration’s support for a civilian democratic transition.
On Monday, Feltman said the United States was “deeply alarmed” at the news of the reported coup. “As we have said repeatedly, any changes to the transitional government by force puts at risk U.S. assistance,” he added.
