Sudan’s Military Arrests PM, Declares State of Emergency, in Apparent Coup

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was detained on Monday and moved to an undisclosed location by the country’s military, in an apparent coup. Hamdok was arrested after refusing to support the coup by issuing a statement in favor of it, Reuters reported, citing the country’s information ministry. Five other senior government ministers are also reported to have been arrested. Hours later, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the chairman of the country’s joint civilian-military Sovereign Council, the country’s current ruling body, announced the dissolution of the transitional government and the council and declared a state of emergency for all of Sudan. Military and civilian groups in Sudan have been sharing power since the country’s former leader Omar al-Bashir was ousted in 2019 following months of street protests. The country was moving toward civilian rule and a democratic election by the end of 2023. The military was scheduled to hand over leadership of the council to a civilian leader in the coming months though no specific date had been set. The Sudanese military has blocked roads and bridges and is restriction telecommunications in the country, Al Jazeera reported. Civilians have taken to the streets after the information ministry cited Hamdok as calling on the Sudanese people to resist the coup attempt peacefully and “defend their revolution.”