Sudan’s leader safe after attack

SUDAN’S prime minister survived an assassination attempt as he travelled in a convoy through the capital of Khartoum yesterday. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Abdalla Hamdok, who has held Sudan’s top position since last August.

Government spokespeople gave conflicting reports of how the assassination attempt unfolded and were not clear on whether the attack caused casualties, though images broadcast from the scene on state media showed relatively little damage to the convoy.

Hamdok, an economist and former UN official, tweeted pictures of himself in his office a short while later, smiling behind his desk while a television replayed scenes from the attack.

“I would like to assure the people of Sudan that I am safe and in good shape. Rest assured that what happened today will not stand in the way of our transition, instead it is an additional push to the wheel of change in Sudan,” Hamdok wrote on Twitter.

Sudan was convulsed by protests last year that brought about the ousting of Omar al-Bashir, an autocrat who had ruled the country since 1989.

He was replaced by former allies in the military, who then ceded to some protest demands such as the creation of a civilian government that would share power with the military.

After the attack, leaders from last year’s protests called on people to take to the streets to show support for Hamdok and call for greater independence from the military.